Child Support Agency: Expenditure

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to the public purse of the Child Support Agency was in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Kitty Ussher: The administration of the Child Support agency is a matter for the chef executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse of the Child Support Agency was in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.
	The Agency's operating cost for the year ending March 2008 was £563 million and for the previous year ending March 2007 was £520 million.
	The Agency publishes its annual operating costs each year in its Annual Report and Accounts, current and previous copies of which are available in the House of Commons library or online at the following link:
	http://www.csa.gov.uk/en/about/publications-corporate.asp#AnnRep
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Pensioners: Poverty

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps he has taken to tackle pensioner poverty; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Tackling pensioner poverty remains one of this Government's key priorities.
	The Government have introduced a number of measures to help older people out of poverty. In 1997, the poorest pensioners lived on around £69 a week, today Pension credit ensures that no pensioner needs to live on less than £124.05 a week (£189.35 for a couple). We have successively raised the standard minimum guarantee in pension credit at least in line with earnings in every year since its introduction, and the value of the safety-net we provide for the poorest pensioners has increased by over a third in real terms since 1997.
	We have made good progress in tackling pensioner poverty. Between 1998-99 and 2006-07 the number of pensioners in low income in the UK has fallen from 2.9 million to 2.1 million (measured by 60 per cent. of contemporary median income after housing costs.)
	our commitments in the pensions act 2007 to continue to uprate the pension Credit standard minimum guarantee at least in line with earnings over the long term, and to reintroduce the earnings link to basic state pension from 2012, or by the end of the next Parliament, will help secure the gains we have made into the future.
	We are striving to ensure that older people are aware of, and take up their entitlements through initiatives such as: using sophisticated data matching to identify those who may be entitled to, but not currently receiving, benefits; home visits for vulnerable customers; targeted local marketing and media campaigns; a simple and straightforward claim process and ever closer working with partner organisations.
	In addition to pension credit we have increased winter fuel payments to £200 for households with someone aged 60-79, and £300 for those with someone aged 80 or over. We will be making an additional payment for winter 2008-09 of £50 for households with someone aged 60 to 79 and £100 for those with someone aged 80 or over. Since 1997, we have also introduced free eye-tests, free off-peak bus travel for pensioners and free television licences for those aged over 75.

Pensioners: Winter Fuel Payments

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many pensioners aged 60 years and over claimed the annual £250 winter fuel payment in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and I the UK in each year since its inception;
	(2)  how many pensioners aged 80 years and over claimed the annual £400 Winter Fuel Payment in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK in each year since its inception.

Rosie Winterton: This winter we are making an additional payment with the winter fuel payment making the payment £250 and £400 for winter 2008-09.
	For information on the number of payments made from 1999-2000 to 2006-07 I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 26 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 1387-388. Figures for winter 2007-08 are not yet available.

Pensions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps the Government have taken to encourage people to pay into pension schemes.

Rosie Winterton: The Pensions Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament, will bring in arrangements to encourage individuals to make provisions for their own retirement through the introduction of automatic enrolment. In addition, for the first time, employers will also be required to contribute to workers' pensions.
	We estimate that the Bill's provisions will result in between 6 and 9 million people newly saving in a workplace pension—or saving more—as a result, thus transforming the savings' culture in the UK.

Winter Fuel Payments

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of  (a) the number of cold weather payments to be made in 2008-09 and  (b) the cost of the payments.

Kitty Ussher: The information is not available.
	The cost of cold weather payments for 2008-09 cannot be estimated because it is dependent on the severity of the winter. However, a notional figure of £24 million will be included in the forecasts for the Social fund, provided to HM Treasury.

Departmental Training

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on external training courses for departmental staff in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006,  (c) 2007 and  (d) 2008; and which external organisations were paid by the Department to provide such courses in each year.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office does not organise in-house courses provided by outside organisations; where staff need additional training, pre-existing courses are sourced and staff attend these. Also, all staff are on secondment from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice and have full access to the in-house courses organised by these Departments. The Office spent the following on external training:
	
		
			   Spend on external training (£) 
			 2004-05 11,123 
			 2005-06 13,370 
			 2006-07 13,969 
			 2007-08 14,041 
		
	
	Payments, which include hiring of rooms, were made to
	 2004-05
	British Red Cross
	British Retail Consortium
	British Wind Energy
	CBI Scotland
	CMPS
	David Hume Institute
	Holyrood Communications
	Market Force Communications
	Mekon Ltd.
	Penna Plc
	QMW Public Policy Seminars
	SCDI
	Shelter
	University of Edinburgh
	University of Oxford
	University of Wales
	Waterfront
	 2005-06
	British Red Cross
	Citizens Advice Scotland
	CMPS
	DRCC Ltd.
	Emap Communications
	ESSA Finance
	Holyrood Communications
	MacKay Hannah
	Marketforce Communications Ltd.
	National School of Government
	Neil Stewart Associates
	Penna Plc
	SCDI
	Scottish Renewables
	The British Wind Energy Association
	The Institute for Fiscal Studies
	Metropolitan Police
	The Royal Terrace Hotel
	University of Edinburgh
	Waterfront
	 2006-07
	Citizens Advice Scotland
	Essex Ambulance Service NHS Trust
	Historic Scotland
	Holyrood Communications
	Management Development Partnership
	Marketforce Communications
	Metropolitan Police
	National School of Government
	Novotel
	Penna Plc
	PSCA International
	Scottish Renewables
	The Association of Electoral Administrators
	The David Hume Institute
	Unicom Seminars Ltd.
	University College London
	University of Edinburgh
	 2007-08
	British Red Cross
	City and Islington College
	David Hume Institute
	GovNet Communications
	Hemsley Fraser
	Holyrood Communications
	Industrial and Power Association
	Jogscotland
	Metropolitan Police
	Napier University
	National School of Government
	Needham
	Penna Plc
	Scottish Pre-Retirement Council, The
	Scottish Refugee Council
	University College London
	University of Edinburgh

Parliamentary Ombudsman

Stephen Williams: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the Commission's role is in responding to Questions from hon. Members on the funding and administration of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Nick Harvey: The Commission has no role in the funding or administration of the parliamentary ombudsman. These are matters for the Cabinet Office.

Departmental Lost Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Leader of the House what  (a) equipment and  (b) data was lost by her Office in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: In the last 12 months one laptop has been reported stolen from the Leader of the House of Commons Office. The laptop was used to update the office website and did not contain any personal data or other sensitive information. No data have been lost.

Departmental Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in her Department in the last 12 months; and at what total cost.

Tessa Jowell: The information requested is a matter of public record. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 6 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1185W.

Olympic Games 2012: Education

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what assessment she has made of the Field Studies Council's proposals to site residential urban education centre in the Olympic Park after the London 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: I am aware of the proposals made by the Field Studies Council (FSC). The FSC wrote to me earlier this year and I suggested that they meet with the London Development Agency (LDA), as interim clients for the Olympic Legacy Park, and my officials from the Government Olympic Executive (GOE). This meeting took place on 7 May 2008, when the FSC's proposals were discussed in detail in the context of the Legacy Masterplan Framework (LMF) being developed by the LDA. The LMF sets out the framework of homes, education and health facilities, workspaces, infrastructure and parkland that will need to be put in place following the 2012 Games. Another meeting is scheduled to take place in November, between the FSC, LDA and GOE, when the proposals will be considered further.

Catz Club

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 8 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 262-63, on the voluntary sector, what the timetable is for his review of the Catz Club, payments made to it by Futurebuilders and the removal of funding of Catz Club from the Futurebuilders website.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 28 October 2008
	 Pursuant to the answer given on 8 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 262-63, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster reviewed this case and wrote to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) on 23 October 2008. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Catz Club

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 8 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 262-63, on the voluntary sector, for what reasons Futurebuilders removed references to its funding of the charity Catz Club from its website.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 28 October 2008
	The Futurebuilders Fund is managed by Futurebuilders England Ltd. (FBE) under contract to the Cabinet Office.
	I understand that FBE did remove some references to Catz Club from their website on 12 September 2008, on the basis that they were no longer an investee of Futurebuilders.

Departmental Air Travel

James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column 27W, on carbon emissions: Government departments, how much air mileage incurred through departmental travel was used to calculate the departmental payment to the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund in each year that his Department has participated in the fund, broken down by  (a) domestic,  (b) short haul and  (c) long haul flights.

Tom Watson: Information will be available in the Cabinet Office Mid-Year report, expected to be published shortly.

Population

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proportion of projected growth in UK population he expects will be accounted for by (a) immigration and (b) natural growth at the point at which the domestic population reaches 70 million.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your asking what proportion of projected growth in population she expects will be accounted for by (a) immigration and (b) natural growth at the point at which the domestic population reaches 70 million. (232523)
	The most recent national population projections, based on mid-2006 population estimates, were published by the Office for National Statistics on 23 October 2007. Under the principal projection, the population of the UK is expected to reach 70 million in 2028.
	Figures on the proportion of projected growth attributable to immigration and natural growth for the year 2031 are available. A table showing these proportions is given below.
	
		
			  Projected population growth by component, United Kingdom, 2006-31 
			   Principal projection 
			 Total population increase between 2006 and 2031(thousand) 10,513 
			  Resulting from:  
			 Assumed net migration (thousand) 4,912 
			 Natural change assuming no migration (thousand) 3,214 
			 Additional natural change from assumed level of net migration (thousand) 2,387 
			   
			  Percentage of pop ulation  gro wth 2006- 31 resulting from:  
			 Assumed net migration 47 
			 Natural change assuming no migration 31 
			 Additional natural change from assumed level of net migration 23 
			  Source: Migration and Population growth: http://www.gad.gov.uk/Demography_Data/Population/2006/methodology/mignote.asp

Voluntary Organisations: Surveys

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the budget for the national survey of third sector organisations commissioned by the Office of the Third Sector from Ipsos MORI is; and if he will place a copy of the survey in the Library.

Kevin Brennan: The programme and administration budgets for the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) are published within the parliamentary estimates for the Cabinet Office—firstly in the main estimates and then updated in the winter and spring supplementary estimates. The budget for the National Survey of Third Sector Organisations is included within this figure.
	Copies of the surveys used have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

World War I: Anniversaries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will attend the remembrance event at the Canadian High Commission on 4 November.

Gordon Brown: My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Jones) will be attending on behalf of the Government.

Crimes of Violence: Homosexuality

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps police services in England have taken to use social networking sites to encourage reporting of homophobic hate crimes and incidents; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: The Association of Police Officers are reviewing the use of third party reporting mechanisms. The Minister of State for Security, Counter Terrorism and Police the Minister for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing, (Mr. Coaker) discussed the matter at a bi-lateral meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police on 21 October 2008 both parties stated their desire to see a service provided and the Minister has asked Superintendent Paul Giannasi, the project lead for Race for Justice to urgently meet with Metropolitan Police officials to establish the feasibility and cost of a solution. The first meeting has taken place and a report will be considered by the Minister and the Commissioner when the work is complete. The service will then be reviewed and developed to allow links into 'social networking' and other internet schemes.

Departmental Trade Unions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants in her Department were seconded to work for  (a) trade unions and  (b) the Trades Union Congress in each year since 2003.

Phil Woolas: The following table gives a breakdown of secondments from the Home Office to trade unions for each year since 2003. The table reflects formal secondments out of the Home Office.
	No Home Office staff were seconded to the Trades Union Congress during the period for which data has been requested.
	
		
			  Civil servants seconded from the Home Office to work for trade unions, 2003 to 2008 
			   Home Office HQ  UK Border Agency  Identity and Passport Service  HM Prison Service  Criminal Records Bureau 
			 2003 0 0 1 Not available 0 
			 2004 0 0 1 Not available 0 
			 2005 1 0 1 Not available 0 
			 2006 0 0 2 Not available 0 
			 2007 0 1 1 Not available 0 
			 2008 0 1 1 N/A — part of MoJ 0

Immigration

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will break down by nationality the asylum applicants dealt with under the legacy exercise who have been  (a) granted and  (b) refused indefinite leave to remain.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend (Mr. Byrne) on 29 September 2008,  Official Report, column 2349W.
	The requested information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual cases.

Immigration: English Language

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of spouses of each sex who entered the UK for settlement purposes in 2007 from  (a) India,  (b) Pakistan and  (c) Bangladesh who did not have conversational English.

Phil Woolas: The number of visas issued for entry as a spouse for settlement purposes in 2007 at our posts in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 India 4,379 
			 Pakistan 11,033 
			 Bangladesh 2,644 
		
	
	These figures include a small number who qualified for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE), as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 India 44 
			 Pakistan 16 
			 Bangladesh 9 
		
	
	The remainder would have been admitted for an initial period of two years, at the end of which they may apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).
	Since 2 April 2007, anyone applying for ILE or ILR has had to show, among other things, that they have a sufficient knowledge of the English language and of Life in the UK. It is not possible to determine from our records how many of the above applicants who were granted  (a) limited leave to enter, or  (b) ILE before 2 April 2007, did not have conversational English.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to respond to the letter to her dated 8th September from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Linda James.

Jacqui Smith: I replied to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 30 October 2008.

Metropolitan Police: Special Constables

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there were in the Metropolitan Police Authority area in each year since 2004, broken down by police division; and how many special constables there were in  (a) the London borough of Hillingdon and  (b) Uxbridge constituency in each year.

Vernon Coaker: The available data are given in the following table.
	Police service strength data are not available by London borough or constituency, and are collected at the police force and Basic Command Unit (BCU) levels only. Within the Metropolitan Police Service area however, the boundaries for boroughs and BCUs are coterminous.
	
		
			  Special Constables (headcount)( 1)  in the Metropolitan Police service by Basic Command unit as at  31  March 2004 to  31  March 2008 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Barking and Dagenham 14 10 21 28 53 
			 Barnet 38 35 73 94 124 
			 Bexley 74 81 103 101 89 
			 Brent 29 27 29 19 43 
			 Bromley 12 10 24 47 78 
			 Camden 28 22 52 78 134 
			 Central Services 18 26 35 114 162 
			 City of Westminster 85 81 166 251 256 
			 Croydon 17 14 20 36 67 
			 Ealing 21 14 24 37 78 
			 Enfield 20 17 23 30 64 
			 Greenwich 17 7 42 44 75 
			 Hackney 12 9 19 25 42 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 20 19 44 58 72 
			 Haringey 13 14 27 43 46 
			 Harrow 13 10 22 52 71 
			 Havering 29 33 41 52 80 
			 Heathrow 7 12 16 17 17 
			 Hillingdon 15 15 22 38 64 
			 Hounslow 18 15 23 21 35 
			 Islington 39 35 32 40 73 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 14 20 37 51 134 
			 Kingston upon Thames 15 13 32 40 63 
			 Lambeth 20 20 35 42 58 
			 Lewisham 13 9 33 42 45 
			 Merton 17 17 21 19 33 
			 Newham 16 15 23 42 66 
			 Redbridge 17 16 34 54 86 
			 Richmond upon Thames 19 17 25 36 43 
			 Southward 18 9 25 36 52 
			 Sutton 6 4 11 25 29 
			 Tower Hamlets 17 20 34 36 54 
			 Waltham Forest 16 10 19 25 29 
			 Wandsworth 15 21 34 68 95 
			 Metropolitan Police Service 742 697 1,221 1,741 2,510 
			 (1) Special constable figures are given as headcount measures.

Police: Hemel Hempstead

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many  (a) police officers and  (b) police officers per 1,000 individuals there were in Hemel Hempstead constituency in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many police officers there were in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Information for Hertfordshire constabulary at the police force and basic command unit (BCU) level are provided in the following tables. Hemel Hempstead falls within the western division BCU. Police personnel data are not available by parliamentary constituency. BCU data are not available prior to 2002-03.
	
		
			  Police officer strength( 1,2)  and officers per 100,000 population for Hertfordshire police force 
			  As at 31 March  each year  Police officer strength  Officers per 100,000 population 
			 1997 1,759 205 
			 1998 1,740 202 
			 1999 1,724 198 
			 2000 1,767 201 
			 2001 1,922 184 
			 2002 1,825 174 
			 2003 1,957 191 
			 2004 2,086 204 
			 2005 2,104 206 
			 2006 2,126 208 
			 2007 2,159 210 
			 2008 2,137 204 
			 (1) These tables contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Comparable strength (excludes those on career breaks, or maternity/paternity leave). The Police Numbers Task Force (2001) recommended that a clear presentation was made of the numbers of staff employed by police forces including those seconded into the force and those on any type of long or short-term absence. These new calculations were first used in 2003, and are not comparable with data prior to March 2003. The data from 2003 onwards used here are termed comparable because they have been calculated on the old basis to allow comparison. 
		
	
	
		
			  Police officer strength( 1,2)  and officers par 100,000 population for Hertfordshire western basic command unit 
			  As at 31 March  each year  Police officer strength  Officers per 100,000 population 
			 2003 504 168 
			 2004 552 183 
			 2005 547 182 
			 2006 516 171 
			 2007 505 167 
			 2008 494 163 
			 (1) These tables contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Data collected from 2002-03 onwards.

UK Border Agency: Expenditure

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse of the UK Border Agency and its predecessor was in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) on 21 October 2008,  Official Report, column 273W.

Ferries: Lymington

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on plans by Wightlink for new ferries between Lymington and Yarmouth; what role his Department will have in determining the required permissions for the new ferries to enter service; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the financial interests of each of the Lymington Harbour commissioners.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have had no discussions with colleagues about this matter. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is responsible for issuing a passenger safety certificate for the Wightlink ferry and the Department has no other role in respect of any further permissions required. We do not hold information about the financial interests of the Lymington Harbour Commissioners.

Government Departments: Official Cars

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars the Government  (a) owns and  (b) operates, broken down by department; and how many of them are British-built.

Geoff Hoon: The Department for Transport does not hold information on other Departments' vehicle fleets.
	Information in respect of the cars owned and leased by the Department for Transport is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of cars owned  Number of cars leased  Number of British built cars 
			  Central Department
			 DFT HQ (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Air Accidents Investigation Branch 0 7 0 
			 Marine Accident Investigation Branch 0 1 0 
			 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 0 38 (2)— 
			 Driving Standards Agency 30 0 (2)— 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency 233 1 42 
			 Highways Agency 0 196 56 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 404 0 45 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 238 0 (2)— 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency 3 0 0 
			 (1) Included in GCDA (2) Not recorded

M6: Accidents

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) serious and  (b) fatal accidents there were on the M6 through North Staffordshire in each of the last two years; how many accidents there were in total in each category on motorways in England, broken down by region; and if he will make an assessment of the safety of the M6 in North Staffordshire in comparison with equivalent roads elsewhere.

Paul Clark: For motorways, the Highways Agency records personal injury accident data on a 'motorway junction to motorway junction' basis.
	The following table details the number serious and fatal accidents that occurred in each of the last two years, between Junction 14 of the M6 Motorway in north Staffordshire and Junction 18 in south Cheshire.
	
		
			  Severity of accident  2006  2007 
			 Serious 10 12 
			 Fatal 4 3 
			 Total 14 15 
		
	
	The following table details the number of serious and fatal accidents that occurred in each of the last two years, split across the Agency's regional boundaries for the entire motorway network in England.
	
		
			   Fatal  Serious 
			  Region  2006  2007  Total  2006  2007  Total 
			 EM 3 5 8 12 25 37 
			 NW 25 28 53 133 133 266 
			 SE 41 33 74 230 252 482 
			 SW 11 16 27 39 40 79 
			 WM 27 18 45 108 96 204 
			 YNE 20 10 30 86 83 169 
			 E 19 21 40 99 102 201 
			 Total 146 131 277 707 731 1,438 
		
	
	The national average personal injury accident rate for motorways in England for the last two years is 8.43 per hundred million vehicle kilometres. The corresponding accident rate for the M6 between Junctions 14 and 18 is 7.8 per hundred million vehicle kilometres, which is below the national average.

Rescue Services: Hope Cove

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Hope Cove lifeboat is to be taken out of service on 2 November; for what reasons there was no local consultation with Marlborough parish council and others prior to the Coastguard and Maritime Agency's decision to take the boats out of service; and if he will instruct the agency to defer decommissioning the boat until such local consultation has taken place.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 29 October 2008
	In the interest of the safety of the volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officer crew and those they could be called upon to rescue, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency boat at Hope Cove has been available only for use under strict operational limits. Now, with the onset of the autumn season and the associated weather conditions and sea states, although the boat will remain in Hope Cove, it is unlikely that it would be able to operate in compliance with those limits over the next few months.
	No decision has been taken about the future of the boat, and none will be taken, until there has been a local consultation with interested parties including Marlborough parish council.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the demand for the free parcel service to members of the armed forces serving in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: Historical evidence over the last decade has indicated that, where a mail service has operated with a limited Free Christmas Service, the volume of mail to personnel on operations has been broadly 4kg of mail per person per month outside of a changeover period; increasing to 5kg per person per month during the changeover and 12kg per person per month over the Christmas period.
	Since the introduction of the Enduring Families Free Mail Service in September 2007, however, the volumes of mail for both the steady state and the changeover periods have increased by 40 per cent. overall, but for Afghanistan it has increased by 100 per cent.

Armed Forces: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of former members of the armed forces diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The healthcare of veterans is principally a matter for the national health service and the four UK health Departments, reflecting the need to provide expert care close to an individual's home and family. Information has not been collected on how many former members of the armed forces were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in each of the last five years. However, a sample survey on psychiatric morbidity is currently being carried out by the Office of National Statistics; this includes questions allowing identification of veterans, the time at which they served and whether any traumatic experience that may have caused their condition took place in service. This will allow a clearer understanding of the extent and nature of veterans' mental health problems. In addition, in 2003 we commissioned Kings College London to undertake a study of the health outcomes for some 20,000 personnel deployed to Iraq or in a non-deployed comparator group. This includes analysis of mental health outcomes which so far shows that generally there is not a higher incidence of mental health problems among those deployed though there were some specific areas of concern, notably among reservists; we have taken steps to address this by offering those with operational service since 2003 access to defence medical services where appropriate, for assessment and treatment.
	We will continue to monitor carefully the research, which has now been extended to cover in addition personnel deployed to Afghanistan.

Armed Forces: Training

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken in response to Recommendation 8 of the Blake review for a regular Army Training and Recruitment Agency audit of the physical and psychological environment of the training estate to be conducted.

Bob Ainsworth: The Army Recruiting and Training Division (ARTD), formerly the Army Training and Recruitment Agency, uses the army assurance framework to meet the audit requirements of recommendation 8. The approach is designed to support a culture of continuous improvement and addresses all aspects of training including the trainee learning experience. This includes regular inspections by various parties, as follows:
	1st Party Assurance—completed at unit level under the direction of the unit commanding officer either weekly or monthly at the discretion of the commanding officer. The results of these inspections are reported annually to HQ ARTD.
	2nd Party Assurance—completed by the Directorate of Individual Training (DITC) and the Adjutant General's Individual Training Inspectorate. The MOD's Directorate General of Training and Education coordinates all 2nd Party audits throughout the armed forces. A unit can expect to be audited by each organisation every two years
	3rd Party Assurance—Completed by Ofsted usually every three years, at as little as 24 hours' notice.
	The audit of the physical training estate is conducted through the integrated estate management plans (IEMPs). Since 2003 the MOD has improved some 20,000 single living bed spaces for the armed forces, and this will increase to 50,000 by 2013. In total the MOD plans to spend some £8.4 billion on living accommodation over the next decade, which includes £3 billion on delivering new build and upgraded accommodation. Phase One trainees are housed in dormitories which are partitioned into three separate areas, each with four beds, with individual wardrobes and storage cupboards providing a degree of individual privacy. On each floor there are four dormitories, with dedicated sanitary facilities, utility rooms, baggage stores, and communal and recreation areas. A platoon office and a 'duty of care' en suite bedroom are located on each floor, to ensure good visibility of personnel passing through the communal areas.

Astute Class Submarines: Ballistic Missiles

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to enable the design and build for the new Astute class submarines to allow for the retro-fitting of conventional intercontinental ballistic missiles.

John Hutton: The Astute Class submarines are not physically large enough to accommodate Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, and therefore there is no possibility that they will be retrofitted.

China: Military Alliances

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received from the Chinese government on military co-operation.

Bob Ainsworth: We have received no such representations.
	However, as I said in my answer to the hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard) on 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 242W, my right hon. Friend's predecessor met the Deputy Chief of the People's Liberation Army General Staff in June this year and discussed a range of issues relating to Afghanistan.
	This meeting fell within the bounds of the Government's policy on our bilateral defence engagement with China, which I explained in detail during the adjournment debate on 28 October 2008,  Official Report, column 225WH.

Defence Estates: Animal Welfare

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Minister in his Department has responsibility for animal welfare on the defence estate.

Kevan Jones: As the Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Veterans I have responsibility for the welfare of military working animals.
	Farmers who hold a tenancy for land on the defence estate are responsible for the welfare of their animals.

Departmental Information Officers

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many press and communications officers are employed by  (a) his Department,  (b) its non-departmental public bodies and  (c) its agencies;
	(2)  how many press and communications officers are employed by  (a) his Department,  (b) its non-departmental public bodies and  (c) its agencies.

Kevan Jones: Across the Department a variety of people are involved in Communications often as a secondary function or in a very limited local way. There are no definitive central records available and exact data on all these individuals could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	There are 107 people, both civilian and serving military, in press or communications functions in the Directorate General Media and Communication (DGMC), the central MOD communications organisation. This includes staff based across the UK in Regional Press Offices often primarily supporting the armed forces with local media. This also includes MOD press officers deployed with the armed forces on operations to assist journalists in theatre.
	The White Book, the Central Office of Information (COI) directory of communications staff in Government Departments and agencies, provides details of a further 157 people in full time communications posts outside of DGMC (as of the September 2008 edition). These are working in single service commands, major civilian top level budget (TLB) areas such as Defence Estates and Defence Equipment and Support and Trading funds such as the Meteorological Office and the UK Hydrographic Office.
	The MOD does not hold central lists of communicators employed by non-departmental public bodies.

Gulf of Aden: Piracy

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 23 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 475-76W, on Gulf of Aden: piracy, which departments were involved in the review of the Government's stance on piracy; which geographical regions the review covered; and what its main conclusions were.

Bob Ainsworth: The Government have looked at what more can be done to counter the growing problem of piracy off the Horn of Africa. The review was co-ordinated by the Cabinet Office, in consultation with the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office, The Department for Transport, the Department for International Development, the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Ministry of Justice.
	The review recognised the increased incidence of piracy in recent months off the Horn of Africa and Gulf of Aden. It noted that this is an international problem which the UK alone cannot solve and acknowledged that the UK was already supporting international efforts to counter piracy through Combined Task Force 150 and that planning was under way for both NATO and EU operations in which the UK would play a part. The review's main conclusion was that the UK should move beyond simply honouring commitments under international law to respond to individual acts of piracy, towards a more active role in countering piracy.

Information Warfare

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the NATO  (a) cyber threat assessment and  (b) cyber defence concept.

Bob Ainsworth: NATO plans to have an operational cyber threat assessment cell by 2010 and this cell will produce NATO cyber Threat Assessments from that date.
	The NATO cyber defence concept was developed following the production of a cyber defence policy paper by the USA. The UK was a co-signatory to this paper, as were France and Estonia. The NATO cyber defence policy and the cyber defence concept were approved by the North Atlantic Council (NAC) earlier this year. The NATO Cyber Defence Management Authority (CDMA) was also given approval by the NAC earlier this year and the concept of operations for the CDMA are soon to be approved. The MoD assisted in the development of these documents through their drafting process to final version.

Information Warfare

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which international organisations the UK has discussed cyber warfare or terrorism in the last three years.

Bob Ainsworth: The UK has numerous multi-lateral and bi-lateral agreements with a number of different countries concerning the matters involving computer network defence (including cyber warfare or terrorism). The organisations dealt with on a regular basis on this subject are NATO, the International Computer Network Defence Co-ordination Working Group (ICCWG) and the International Network Activity Team (I-NAT).

Nuclear Disarmament

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will meet the Parliamentary All-Party CND Group to discuss nuclear disarmament policy.

John Hutton: My predecessor met the Parliamentary All Party CND Group on 21 July 2008, explaining and discussing in detail the Government's position on a wide variety of nuclear issues. I would, however, be happy to meet the Group in due course.

Trade Unions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civil servants in his Department were seconded to work for  (a) trades unions and  (b) the Trades Union Congress in each year since 2003.

Kevan Jones: Data on how many civil servants were seconded to work for trade unions and the Trades Union Congress in each year since 2003 is not held centrally. Secondments are arranged locally by Business Partners and to gather this information would involve Business Partners trawling their records at disproportionate cost.

Breast Cancer

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent steps his Department has taken to raise awareness of breast cancer among the general public;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to raise awareness among the general public that breast cancer can affect men as well as women.

Ann Keen: Raising awareness of the symptoms of cancer is a key element of the Cancer Reform Strategy. Through the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative, we will be taking forward work to improve awareness of the signs and symptoms of all cancers, including breast cancer, among men and women. We will be working to support local interventions to increase cancer symptom awareness and encourage early presentation.
	We are currently investing in the Improvement Foundation's pilot work to develop and test methods of raising awareness of breast, bowel and lung cancers in 20 of the most deprived areas in the country. Full findings are expected in 2009-10.
	The Department encourages all women to be breast aware. Our Be Breast Aware leaflet (a copy of which has been placed in the Library), produced with Cancer Research UK, sets out the signs and symptoms of breast cancer so women know what to look for.
	Male breast cancer is very rare. In England in 2005, 260 men were diagnosed with breast cancer in England compared to 38,108 women, and 77 men died from breast cancer in England compared to 10,244 women.
	We acknowledge the importance of raising men's awareness of health issues and encouraging men to take an active interest in their health. Breast Cancer Care has produced an information pack for men, Men with breast cancer. The Department contributed towards the cost of the Men's Health Forum's Men and Cancer manual, published in 2004, which provides information on prevention and treatment for all cancers that affect men.

NHS: Drugs

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) evaluated and  (b) commissioned on abnormalities, other than vaginal cancer, which have occurred amongst daughters of women prescribed the drug diethylstilboestrol.

Ann Keen: Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is an oestrogenic hormone formerly used in the treatment of threatened miscarriage.
	The Department is aware of several studies that are investigating the risk of abnormalities other than vaginal cancer in women who were exposed to DES in utero. Most of these data come from a large ongoing study conducted by the National Institute of Cancer in the United States. These data have not been formally evaluated but there is some evidence to suggest that the risk of cervical cancer in DES daughters may be increased and limited support for an increased risk of breast cancer in young women. The Department encourages women to attend regular cervical and breast screening.
	In 1978 a study commissioned by the Medical Research Council followed-up women in the UK who had been exposed to DES and their offspring for all significant health outcomes. Mothers and offspring were flagged at the National Health Service Central Register and coded copies of death and cancer registrations were notified to the researchers. Follow-up was discontinued in 1999 due to small numbers of participants.

Rural Areas

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in respect of which of his Department's public service agreements rural proofing of departmental policies is stipulated.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department of Health leads on two cross government public service agreement(s) (PSA)—Better Health and Well Being for all PSA 18 and Better Care for all PSA 19. The Department has signed up as a formal delivery partner for the following 11 PSAs:
	Socially Excluded Adults PSA
	Housing Supply PSA
	Young People on Paths to Success PSA
	Child Safety PSA
	Children and Young People Health and Well Being PSA
	Science and Innovation PSA
	Later Life PSA
	Employment PSA
	Equalities PSA
	Alcohol and Drugs PSA
	Safer Communities PSA.
	It is a requirement for all new policies and programmes to be subject to an impact assessment which includes rural proofing.

Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cancer networks have  (a) agreed,  (b) commenced and  (c) completed reconfiguration to comply with upper-gastro-intestinal improving outcomes guidance.

Ann Keen: Progress on the implementation of improving outcomes guidance is reported in June and December each year. As at June 2008, 21 of the 28 cancer networks across the country had implemented Improving Outcomes in Upper Gastro-intestinal Cancers. The remaining seven cancer networks had agreed plans with the National Cancer Action Team for the implementation of this guidance.

Banking Supervision

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will instruct his appointees to the boards of banks in receipt of public funds for recapitalisation to seek measures through the board to  (a) recover the bonus payments made and  (b) reduce the pension payments to the chief executives and chairmen of the board of those banks commensurate with their performance.

Ian Pearson: As part of their investment, the Government have agreed a range of commitments with banks accessing the capitalisation scheme. The Government expect that no cash bonuses will be paid to directors in the current year. Going forward, and to ensure that taxpayers' interests as shareholders in the bank are protected, and the performance of the company enhanced, directors' remuneration will be linked to long term value creation and take account of risk.
	The terms have been agreed on a case-by-case basis with banks accessing the recapitalisation scheme, although elements are common to all participating banks.

Banks: Government Securities

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value is of Government bonds swapped for bank-owned assets under the liquidity arrangements; and what proportion has been swapped with assets of  (a) UK banks and  (b) other banks.

Ian Pearson: In order to provide the banking system with sufficient liquidity the Bank of England has extended the scale of its lending in its scheduled money market operations (through for example, an extension in its lending at three-month maturities). In addition, as part of the Government's plan to recapitalise the banking system, the Chancellor announced that at least £200 billion will be made available to banks under the Special Liquidity Scheme (SLS). The Bank does not publish information about the value of lending to specific counterparties but it has said that the total outstanding value of Treasury Bills lent under the SLS will be published after the end of the Drawdown Period, which is set to close on 30 January 2009.

Departmental Lost Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what  (a) equipment and  (b) data was lost by his Department in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: No equipment or data has been reported lost in HM Treasury in the last 12 months.

Financial Services: Direct Selling

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from consumer organisations on the use by financial services companies of automated cold-calling telephony systems that give rise to silent calls; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Department has no record of receiving any representations from consumer organisations on the issue of financial services companies' use of automated cold calling telephony systems.
	This is a matter for the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom). Under sections 128-130 of the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom can take enforcement action when there are reasonable grounds for believing that a person (either an individual or a legal entity) has persistently misused an electronic communications network or service. A person misuses a network or service if the effect, or likely effect, of their behaviour, is to cause unnecessary annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety to another person. Ofcom has taken action and fined companies over the past year who they found were in breach of these rules.

Landfill Tax

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the calculations underlying the tax neutrality of the proposed exemption from landfill tax for contaminated soils and extensions of the land remediation relief to derelict land.

Angela Eagle: The Exchequer impacts which set out the revenue neutrality of the exemption from landfill tax for contaminated soils and the extension of land remediation relief is published in Table A.1 of the 2008 Budget Report.

Revenue and Customs: Databases

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of UK taxpayers whose personal details are held on HM Revenue and Customs' Taxpayer Business System;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of complaints received by HM Revenue and Customs on inaccurate personal data held on its Taxpayer Business System in each of the last four years;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK taxpayers' personal detail entries on HM Revenue and Customs' Taxpayer Business System that contained inaccurate information in each of the last four years;
	(4)  what procedure governs the  (a) alteration and  (b) disclosure by HM Revenue and Customs staff of taxpayers' personal details held on its Taxpayer Business System;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the cost of correcting inaccurate personal information held on HM Revenue and Customs' Taxpayer Business System in each of the last four years.

Stephen Timms: The Taxpayer Business Service is not a database. It is a method of accessing and amending details held elsewhere and does not itself hold personal data.
	The TBS system allows records held in the central frameworks database to be viewed and amended. These frameworks hold personal details of approximately 47 million taxpayers and non-taxpayers. At any point in time, 3 to 3.5 million records for individuals held on frameworks are inaccurate.
	Information relating to the number of complaints about the state of the frameworks databases is not recorded. The cost of correcting database entries is not recorded separately.
	Staff are only allowed to access the Taxpayer Business Service if they have a business need to do so. Where access rights are validated staff are able to amend the appropriate records. Staff must adhere to rigorous guidelines in relation to disclosure of data; They must establish that they have permission/legal authority to disclose it, and that the requestor has entitlement/legal right to receive it.

Pakistan: Overseas Aid

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 119W, on Pakistan: overseas aid, what the key performance indicators are for each of the 10 programmes referred to.

Douglas Alexander: For each of the 10 programmes referred to we will monitor progress in the following areas:
	 General Budget Support
	Macro economic policy.
	Government expenditure on poverty related activities.
	Education sector performance.
	Implementation of commitments on human rights.
	Improvements in public financial management.
	 Pakistan Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation
	Availability of finance for landless families to buy plots for house-building.
	Immunisation for children under two years.
	Proportion of population having access to safe water and improved sanitation services.
	Epidemics averted by a disease early warning system.
	Proportion of poor and vulnerable people with access to education and health services.
	Gross and net school enrolment rates.
	 National Health Facility
	Contraceptive prevalence rates among married women.
	Coverage of fully immunised children.
	Percentage of female sex workers using a condom during last sex act (also relevant for the HIV/AIDS programme).
	Percentage of injecting drug users always using new syringe (also relevant for the HIV/AIDS programme).
	TB case detection rate.
	TB treatment success rate.
	Malaria prevalence rates (passive case detection).
	Prevalence of underweight children.
	 Strengthening Education in Pakistan:
	Access to education (particularly for grades 0 to grade 12.
	Transition of girls from primary to middle schools in the public sector.
	Drop-out and completion rates among girls enrolled in grades 6 to 10.
	Governance and institutional performance.
	 Maternal and Newborn Health
	Proportion of births attended by skilled birth attendants.
	Proportion of births in public/private health facilities.
	Proportion of pregnant women visiting health facility for pre-natal consultation.
	Proportion of rural health centres providing 24/7 basic, and district hospitals providing 24/7 comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care services.
	Maternal and neonatal case fatality rates in health facilities.
	Proportion of population in reproductive age group satisfied with public reproductive and child health services.
	 Financial Inclusion Programme
	Number of microfinance borrowers.
	Proportion of women with access to formal or semi-formal financial services.
	Proportion of young people with access to formal or semi-formal financial services.
	Proportion of female managers in the microfinance industry.
	Outreach of financial services to underserved areas.
	Increase in small enterprise credit.
	Microfinance clients' interest savings.
	 Polio Programme
	Number of wild polio virus cases reported.
	Non polio Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) cases per 100,000 children less than 15 years of age during 2008 and 2009.
	 HIV/AIDS Programme
	Percentage of blood transfusions in public sector that are screened for HIV, Hepatitis B and C.
	Percentage of injecting drug users always using new syringe in last month (this indicator is also relevant for the NHF programme above).
	Percentage of female sex workers using a condom during last sex act (this indicator is also relevant for the NHF programme above).
	 Humanitarian Assistance to Flood Victims and Internally Displaced People
	Demonstrable reductions in mortality and morbidity following DFID-funded interventions in camps.
	Reductions in the numbers of reported human rights abuses or abductions following DFID-funded interventions.
	Cluster approach is adopted and maintained where appropriate.
	Programmes are implemented in concurrence with DFID Humanitarian policy.
	 Devolved Social Servi ces Programme Financial Support
	Proportion of deliveries conducted by trained health professionals.
	Antenatal care services.
	Literacy and primary education rates.
	Proportion of lowest income quintile accessing services.
	Gender ratios for accessing basic health units.
	Proportion of fully immunised children in rural areas.
	Female gross enrolment rates for primary education.
	Enrolment rates for handicapped children.
	Family planning services for married women.
	Water sources.
	Bed-occupancy rates.
	Per-capita utilisation of health facilities.
	Absenteeism rates for doctors and teachers.
	Number of non-functional schemes made functional.
	Increase in capacity to deliver basic social services at provincial and local government levels.
	Availability and use of funds for operation and maintenance of service delivery (proxy).
	Facility staffing and service delivery rationalisation (proxy).
	Allocations and expenditures provincial level social sectors.

Community Allowances

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions she has had with the Department for Work and Pensions on community allowance pilots.

Sadiq Khan: We jointly announced with the Department for Work and Pensions in Communities in Control: real people, real power (CM7427) that the CREATE consortium could pilot the community allowance within the existing benefits and permitted work structure. This was part of on-going discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions to explore how to promote paid community work for out of work benefit claimants to improve their chances of moving into work and benefit the community in which they live.

Departmental Procurement

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Beckenham of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 303W, on departmental procurement, 
	(1)  for what purposes the Deputy Prime Minister's Office used  (a) MC Chauffeurs and  (b) Carlson Wagonlit Travel;
	(2)  what the cost of goods and services purchased from Supplier No.  (a) 405303,  (b) 411763 and  (c) 402446 was during the period that the Deputy Prime Minister's Office existed as a Government department;
	(3)  how much was spent by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office on the Mandarin Oriental Prague; and on what dates the expenditure was incurred;
	(4)  what the cost of goods and services purchased from Company Barclaycard was during the period that the Deputy Prime Minister's Office existed as a Government department.

Sadiq Khan: During the time that the Deputy Prime Minister's Office (DPMO) existed as a separate Government Department:
	 (a) MC Chauffeurs was used for travel on official business;
	 (b) Carlson Wagonlit Travel provided travel agency services to DPMO for international travel on official business;
	 (c) Goods and services supplied by the following vendors were:
	
		
			  Supplier number  Service  Cost (£) 
			 405303 To provide refreshments for official receptions 2,711.90 
			 411763 To provide refreshments following an address to Parliament given by Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the UN 200.22 
			 402446 For travel by officials on official business 9,041.54 
		
	
	 (d) The Office paid £1,985.33 to the Mandarin Oriental Prague for accommodation in connection with a visit to the Czech Republic at the request of the then Prime Minister;
	 (e) The total cost of goods and services purchased via company Barclaycard was £52,078.16. This was subsequently allocated to appropriate budget headings in the resource accounts for DPMO for the appropriate year.
	The Deputy Prime Minister undertook a considerable amount of foreign travel on behalf of the then Prime Minister. He also met a considerable number of visitors from foreign governments and held a number of official receptions. Most of the costs covered by these vendors were incurred undertaking these roles, including the company Barclaycard costs. All expenditure incurred by DPMO was in line with guidelines in Managing Public Money.

Local Government: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many councils have made a net improvement in their comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) scores since CPA was introduced.

John Healey: For single tier authorities and county councils 85 moved up by at least one category between 2002-04 and 51 moved up by at least one category between 2005-07.
	For district councils 42 councils improved performance by at least one category between 2006-08.

Minister for the South East

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the responsibilities are of the Government Minister for the South East; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The Prime Minister appointed the Minister for the South East (along with Ministers for each of the other English regions) in June 2007. Their specific roles were specified in the "Governance of Britain" Green Paper, published on 3 July 2007. Their three key functions are to act as:
	"Regional Leaders": working with members, officials and colleagues from all sectors to get beneath the headlines and into the detail of the problems facing the region—and to look for the solutions.
	"Government champions": speaking at a number of key regional events to promote national policies, using these events also to explore how the region can draw on its experience to offer solutions back to Whitehall Departments.
	"Regional Champions": working with colleagues within Whitehall to promote the region's successes; to champion the needs of the region and to ensure that the region's voice is heard—including membership on both the Regional Economic Council and the Council of Regional Ministers in response to the current economic situation.

National Policy Statements

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether national policy statements will be subject to Parliamentary approval.

Sadiq Khan: Under the provisions of the Planning Bill, draft national policy statements will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. The Bill does not require parliamentary approval of national policy statements.

Planning: Enforcement

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on how long their planning enforcement cases should take to be  (a) investigated and  (b) completed; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) on 23 October 2008,  Official Report, column 495W.

Rural Areas

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in respect of which of her Department's public service agreements rural proofing of departmental policies is stipulated.

Sadiq Khan: Communities and Local Government leads on two cross government Public Service Agreements (PSA 20, Increase long term housing supply and affordability and PSA 21, Build more cohesive, empowered and active communities). Communities and Local Government also contributes to a number of PSAs led by other Government Departments as set out in the relevant PSA Delivery Agreements. It is a requirement for all new policies and programmes to be subject to an impact assessment which includes rural proofing.

Small Business: Tax Allowances

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the estimated yearly cost to the public purse of small business rate relief was in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the estimated gross yearly revenue is from the extra business rates multiplier on medium-sized and large firms to fund small business rate relief.

John Healey: The small business rate relief scheme is designed to operate at no cost to the public purse. A supplement on the multiplier, used to calculate the rate bills of those not receiving the relief, is set before the start of each year. The supplement is set at a level which attempts to eliminate any surpluses or deficits in previous years.
	Figures showing the net effect of the small business rate relief scheme on local authorities' contributions to the national non domestic rates pool were published in a statistical release on 17 September 2008 and can be found on the Communities and Local Government website
	http://www.local.cornmunities.gov.uk/finance/ctax/ndr078o.htm
	In 2007-08, local authorities reported that they raised £133 million from the supplement on the multiplier to fund small business rate relief.

Police Service of Northern Ireland: Equality

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he made of whether institutionalised sectarianism exists within the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The PSNI Equality and Diversity Unit is responsible for monitoring incidences of recorded bullying and harassment on the grounds of religious beliefs and or political opinion. From 1 January 2005 to 22 October 2008 there have been four cases raised The PSNI does not believe that there is any evidence to support a view that it is institutionally sectarian.

Arts: Finance

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the proportion of expenditure on the arts which was funded by  (a) public money,  (b) sponsorship and  (c) other sources in 2007-08.

Barbara Follett: The expenditure on arts in the year 2007-08 which was funded by public money (lottery and exchequer funding) is as follows:
	The amount drawn down by the Lottery Arts Distributors, consisting of Arts Council England, the Scottish Arts Council, Arts Council of Wales, and Arts Council of Northern Ireland, according to the un-audited National Lottery Distribution Fund's Annual Accounts in 2007-08 was £198.434 million.
	In addition, some grants made by the Big Lottery Fund may have benefited groups related to the arts.
	The amount of grant funding provided by Arts Council England was £377.113 million.
	My Department does not hold records of the expenditure on arts from either sponsorship or other sources. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Clothing: Greater London

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure  (a) that London is a competitive centre for fashion and  (b) those working in the industry are encouraged to continue to work in the UK.

Barbara Follett: In February this year the Government published 'Creative Britain—New Talents for a New Economy', a strategy for the Creative Economy in the UK, which sets out in 26 commitments the Government's determination to move the creative industries from the margins to the mainstream of the UK economy. Fashion industry initiatives, both for London as a national and international fashion centre, and for those working in the industry in this country, are central to the strategy.
	Creative Britain includes plans to tackle problems faced by the industry and to encourage and support its growth through education, access to technology and to business support, as well as a commitment to promote British fashion on the world stage.
	For example, the strategy sets out plans to explore support for the British Fashion Council (BFC) to build on its strengths and become a central voice leading the fashion industry. We will work with the industry and with Skillfast UK, the Sector Skills Council for the fashion, textile and apparel industries, to create new apprenticeship opportunities as part of a new Creative Apprenticeships initiative. We will also help the London College of Fashion, the BFC, Skillfast and others to scope a project to develop a High-Fashion Hub for London; this project is intended to be a model for the fashion sector elsewhere in the country.
	We will work with the Mayor of London to champion London Fashion Week and help it fight to retain its status as a focal event in the industry calendar amidst increasingly strong international competition.
	You can read the strategy publication in full at
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/CEPFeb2008.pdf.

Conferences: Greater London

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of London's standing in the International Congress and Convention Association's rankings of countries and changes in those rankings over the last three years.

Barbara Follett: London's position in the International Congress and Convention Association's (ICCA) rankings for 'number of meetings per city' has fallen over the past three years. However, the UK remained in the top four countries in the rankings of 'number of meetings held per country' over this same period. ICCA advise commentators not to interpret their statistics in isolation, as they only record events that take place regularly and rotate between at least three countries. These statistics do not take into account the corporate and inter-governmental sectors.
	In partnership with the industry and the wider public sector, the DCMS has a clear and coherent policy framework for industry growth, including branding and marketing improvement led by VisitBritain.
	The 2012 Olympic games and Paralympic games presents the UK tourism industry with its greatest-ever opportunity. Early indications from eventBritain and Visit London are that much interest has been expressed in holding large international events and conventions in London in the period up to the games and beyond.

Departmental Publications

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on publishing in each of the last three years, broken down by  (a) publication and  (b) category of publication.

Barbara Follett: The amount spent on publishing for each of the last three years was:
	
		
			   Spent on publishing (£) 
			 2005-06 191,854.56 
			 2006-07 143,283.50 
			 2007-08 303,218.50 
		
	
	  (a) The breakdown by publication is as follows:
	
		
			  Publication title  Cost (ex VAT) (£) 
			  April 2005 to March 2006  
			 Gambling Act 2005: What it means for Licensing Authorities 769.31 
			 Listing Criteria—Public Consultation 2,346.44 
			 Ecclesiastical Exemption 581.62 
			 Hague Convention Consultation 5,549.34 
			 Marine Consultation—Analysis of responses 581.62 
			 Treasure Annual Report 28,581.71 
			 Museums Acquisitions 2,976.80 
			 Human Remains Code of Practice 3,984.31 
			 Open House Leaflet 368.00 
			 Total Reward Leaflet 2,209.00 
			 Sustainable Development Plan 2,955.50 
			 DCMS Annual Report 46,229.30 
			 Abolition of Slavery leaflet 1,861.47 
			 Lottery Good Causes Consultation 1,143.25 
			 Digital Housing Project (reprint) 1,350 
			 Communicating with the over 65 years: Desk Research document 1,010.50 
			 Digital Expert Group report document 503 
			 The role of higher and further education in the Creative Industries full document 4,180 
			 The role of higher and further education in the Creative Industries A4 summary 1,138 
			 The role of higher and further education in the Creative Industries flyer 920 
			 Market for Art: Government reply to 6th report CMS committee 1,580.00 
			 Report on Theatre: Government response to CMS committee 1,690.00 
			 Public Libraries: Government response to CMS select Committee, 1,910.00 
			 DCMS Resource Accounts 4,619.49 
			 Export of objects of cultural interest 12,243 
			 National Lottery Distribution fund 2,326.00 
			 Government response to committee report on charter review 1,544.00 
			 Spoliation Advisory Panel report 3,164.00 
			 BBC White Paper 15,311.90 
			 Broadcasting Cricket document 3,164.00 
			 Spoliation Advisory Panel/4 drawings 1,740.00 
			 Government response to Lords Select Committee on charter Review 1,544.00 
			 DCMS Business Plan reprint 1,350.00 
			 Dynamic Action Plan 1,540.00 
			 Dance Link brochure 11,912.00 
			 BBC Charter White Paper 17,765 
			 Sustainable Development Action Plan 2,812 
			 Total 191,854.56 
			   
			  April 2006 to March 2007  
			 About Us (Amendments and reprint) 1,375.88 
			 Gambling Act: Transitional Arrangements Consultation 1,233.70 
			 Laying the Foundations 12,992.00 
			 Nurturing Creativity in Young People 14,310 
			 Digital Expert Group report (July 2006) document 457.50 
			 Gambling Act: Fees document 1,545 
			 Spoliation Advisory Panel—Ashmolean Report 3,164.00 
			 Tourism Consultation document 8,500 
			 Working Together: local authorities and DCMS 8,500 
			 BBC Further Revised Draft Royal Charter 330 
			 BBC Revised Draft Royal Charter and BBC Revised Draft Framework Agreement 2,227 
			 BBC Draft Royal Charter and Framework Agreement 2,760 
			 DCMS Business Plan 2006-07 3,503 
			 DCMS annual report 19,083.85 
			 Creativity Review 440 
			 Museums Strategy 2,923 
			 BROADCASTING: Copy of Royal Charter for the Continuance of the British Broadcasting Corporation (Cm 6925) 1,587 
			 The Community Radio Sector: Looking to the Future 2,796 
			 Export of Objects of Cultural Interest 2005-06 11,950 
			 Heritage Protection for the 21st Century (Cm 7057) 9,550 
			 Government Response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Report on 'London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games: Funding and Legacy'(Cm 7071) £960 
			 Government Response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Inquiry into Call TV quiz shows (Cm 7072) 552 
			 Treasure report 25,260 
			 Heritage Protection Review 7,283.50 
			 Total 143,283.50 
			   
			  April 2007 to March 2008  
			 Cm 7057: Heritage Protection for the 21(st) Century 9,520 
			 Cm 7071: Government Response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Report on "London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games: Funding and Legacy" (HC69) 960 
			 Cm 7072: Government Response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Inquiry into Call TV quiz shows 552 
			 Cm 7088: Government Response to the Science and Technology Select Committee Report on Human Enhancement Technologies 948 
			 Cm 7118: The Digital Switchover Help Scheme: A Scheme Agreement Between Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the British Broadcasting Corporation 2,299 
			 Cm 7184: Government Response to the NAO Review of the Experiences of UK Nationals Affected by the Indian Ocean Tsunami 1,652 
			 Cm 7309: Government Response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Report on Public Service Content (HC36-1) 1,269 
			 Public Appointments and Public Bodies 2,935 
			 Winning: A tourism strategy for 2012 and beyond 27,321 
			 Winning: A tourism Strategy for 2012 and beyond—Executive summary 6,625 
			 London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Annual Report January 2008 22,805 
			 Staying Ahead: the economic performance of 62,466 
			 111 flyer 275 
			 HC63 Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel in respect of three Rubens Paintings 1,571 
			 London Open House leaflet 675 
			 Export of Objects of Cultural interest 2005-06 12,627 
			 CM7236 Government Response to House of Lords Select Committee on Communications 460 
			 CM7186 Government Response to the Culture, Media and Sport select committee report into New Media and the Creative Industries 712 
			 Our Promise for 2012: How the UK will benefit from the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games 19,469 
			 Our Promise for 2012: How the UK will benefit from the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Welsh version) 2,847 
			 Our Promise for 2012: How the UK will benefit from the Olympic Games and Paralympic leaflet 10,570 
			 Our Promise for 2012: How the UK will benefit from the Olympic Games and Paralympic leaflet (Welsh version) 982 
			 Sustainable development action plan 1,487.50 
			 Culture on Demand: Ways to engage a Broader audience 16,220 
			 Culture and Creativity in 2007 8,949 
			 Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) scheme leaflet 2,357 
			 Helping keep your child safe in sport: Child protection leaflet for parents 7,060 
			 Findings and Recommendation of the Live Music Forum 39,793 
			 Final Report of the Casino Advisory Panel 12,600 
			 Treasure Annual Report 2004 24,114 
			 Cenotaph Memorial Order of service 1,098 
			 Total 303,218.50 
		
	
	  (b) The breakdown by category of publication follows:
	
		
			  Category of publication  Cost (£) 
			 Reports 318,814.23 
			 Leaflets 28,769.35 
			 Consultations 18,772.73 
			 Statutory reports and select committee responses 272,000.25

Football: Management

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many recommendations Lord Burns' review into the Football Association made; and how many of his recommendations have been implemented in the areas of  (a) corporate governance and  (b) transparency.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 27 October 2008
	Lord Burns' independent review, commissioned by the Football Association (FA), recommended a number of measures designed to reform their decision-making structure in order to make it a more modern, effective and representative governing body for football. His recommendations fell into five main areas: a reformed FA board headed by an independent chairman; a broader, more representative FA Council to act as the "parliament of football"; a new semi-autonomous regulation and compliance body; the creation of a Community Football Alliance to bridge the governing body functions for the professional and national sides of the game; and a funding formula to clearly set out the distribution of FA surpluses.
	The recommendations were approved by the FA Council in October 2006 and by the AGM in May 2007. Since that time the new FA board has been introduced, with five representatives for each of the professional and national game, alongside the FA CEO and Lord Triesman as The FA's first independent chairman. In addition, the FA Council has expanded to incorporate greater representation for players, supporters, managers, referees, ethnic minorities, disability football, women's football and other areas of the game. The new Football Regulatory Authority acts as an oversight body for The FA's governance and regulation activities. The funding formula is also now in operation and measures have been putt in place to bridge the gap between the professional and national games.
	As part of the monitoring process the FA will review the changes they have put in place at Council, Board and Football Regulatory Authority level by 2012.

London 2012: Learning Disability

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions his Department has had with  (a) other Government Departments and  (b) non-Governmental organisations on the provision of funding to elite athletes with learning disabilities to facilitate their participation in the London 2012 Olympics following the announcement by the International Paralympics Committee that such athletes will be eligible to compete.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 27 October 2008
	The Government welcome the joint statement by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and International Sports Federation for People with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) on 13 September and notes that inclusion of athletes with an intellectual disability in future Paralympics will be considered by the IPC General Assembly in November 2009.
	The Government are fully supportive of the efforts to see athletes with an intellectual disability competing once again in the Paralympics and the Minister for Sport and Minister for Disabled People have met previously with the President of the IPC and INAS-FID to discuss this issue and to encourage early resolution.
	Since the joint statement there have been no discussions between my Department and other Government Departments or non-Government organisations regarding the provision of funding to these athletes to facilitate their participation in London 2012.

Animal Welfare

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regulations cover the minimum space requirements for  (a) poultry,  (b) sheep,  (c) pigs,  (d) cows and  (e) other livestock during transportation by (i) rail, (ii) road and (iii) water; and what the minimum requirement is in each case.

Jane Kennedy: On 5 January 2007, a Regulation on the protection of animals during transport came into force across the European Union (EU), with some elements coming into force in 2008 and 2009.
	The Regulation applies to all those involved with the transport of live vertebrate animals in connection with an economic activity.
	Article 3 (general conditions for the means of transport) of Regulation 1/2005 states:
	"No person shall transport animals or cause animals to be transported in a way likely to cause injury or undue suffering to them."
	In addition point (g) of Article 3 states:
	"Sufficient floor area and height is provided for the animals, appropriate to their size and the intended journey."
	This applies to all animals. This will also cover species that do not have specific space requirements within the Regulation.
	I have placed details of the minimum requirements for the species named, in the Library.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on each of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework in each of the last 36 months.

Huw Irranca-Davies: In Defra, public relations activity forms an important element of a broader communications mix which can include advertising, direct marketing, live events and publications. Public relations covers a range of activity, including "experiential" events. The following table shows what public relations activity was procured via Defra's Communications Directorate since financial year 2005-06 using the COI Public Relations Framework.
	
		
			  Financial year  PR agency  Campaign  Expenditure (£) 
			 2005-06 Amazon PR Sustainable development 67,084 
			  Weber Shandwick Climate change 86,781 
			 2006-07 EdComs & Blue Rubicon Defra Year of Food and Farming 50,872 
			  Amazon PR Sustainable development 48,973 
			  Trimedia Harrison Cowley ACT ON CO2 campaign 49,250 
			  Amazon PR Sustainable development 48,973 
			 2007-08 Trimedia Harrison Cowley ACT ON CO2 campaign (including a series of regional road shows) 476,301 
			  Munro & Forster Waste 64,424 
			  Trimedia Communications UK Climate Change Champions 32,216 
			  EdComs & Blue Rubicon Defra Year of Food and Farming 242,578 
			 2008 to September 2009 EdComs & Blue Rubicon Defra Year of Food and Farming 28,230 
			  Trimedia Communications UK ACT ON CO2 campaign 78,529 
		
	
	There was no PR spend recorded through COI's PR framework for any of Defra's agencies.

Food: Waste Disposal

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proposals he has to develop the energy market for wood waste.

Jane Kennedy: Defra has a project to take forward the policy on waste wood set out in the Waste Strategy 2007. As an initial step, Defra published an information report 'Waste Wood as a Biomass Fuel' in April 2008, prepared in consultation with waste wood recyclers and other stakeholders. As a practical follow-up step to this report, we are encouraging local authorities applying for waste private finance initiative (PFI) credits in support of their waste infrastructure procurements to include plans for waste wood collection and supply.

Landfill

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what deadline the Government have set on the consultation for imposing legal restrictions on the types of waste that can be sent to landfill.

Jane Kennedy: In the England Waste Strategy 2007, the Government said that subject to further analysis, they intended to consult on whether the introduction of further restrictions on the landfilling of biodegradable and recyclable wastes would make an effective contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing resource efficiency.
	Defra has commissioned research into how such restrictions have worked in other countries and how this experience might translate into the UK context. We anticipate that this research will be completed early next year and we will consult on any proposals flowing from it as soon as possible thereafter.

Packaging: Recycling

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how he has implemented the EU Directive target's of 60 per cent. recovery and 55 per cent. recycling of packaging waste in 2008.

Jane Kennedy: The EU directive on packaging and packaging waste (2004/12/EC) requires all member states to ensure that a minimum of 60 per cent. of all packaging waste is recovered (of which 55 per cent. must be recycled). The directive specifies material specific recovery/recycling targets of 60 per cent. for glass, 60 per cent. for paper/board, 50 per cent. for metals, 22.5 per cent. for plastics and 15 per cent. for wood. We are currently on track to achieve these targets by 31 December 2008.
	The UK has transposed this directive through two pieces of legislation—the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations (Amendment) 2008 and the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 (as amended).
	Under the producer responsibility regulations, companies must ensure that a proportion of the packaging they handle is recovered and recycled. The amount they must recycle depends on how much packaging they handle, the activities they have carried out with that packaging e.g. retailing, packer filling and the targets set by the Government. Small companies or companies who do not handle much packaging are exempted from the regulations.
	The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has been working with retailers, brands and manufacturers to reduce packaging waste. WRAP has been working specifically to increase the amount of recycled material used by the UK manufacturing sector, to promote recycling by consumers and householders and advising local authorities on their recycling schemes.

Trees

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will fund a long-term monitoring programme of amenity trees.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Defra has no current plans to fund a long-term monitoring programme of amenity trees.

Waste Management: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations Gloucestershire County Council have made to his Department on applying for private finance initiative credits for its waste strategy.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to an earlier answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Joan Ruddock) on 28 April 2008,  Official Report , column 9W.
	Since then, Gloucestershire county council has submitted a detailed outline business case to Defra. This was assessed by Defra, after which it was submitted to the Treasury's cross-department Project Review Group in October for consideration. An announcement on this private finance initiative (PFI) application should be made shortly.

Water: Shortages

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department and its predecessor has spent on investigations of solutions to water shortages in  (a) the South East and  (b) Hertfordshire in the last 10 years.

Jane Kennedy: Since the privatisation in 1989, of the water industry in England and Wales, the water companies supplying  (a) the South East and  (b) Hertfordshire have had duties to ensure that the public water supply is maintained. It is for the companies, not the Government, to investigate solutions to any potential shortfalls and to make the necessary investments. To assist them in identifying the necessary investment, as required by the water industry economic regulator, Ofwat, the companies produced water resources plans in 1999 and 2004. This year the companies consulted on their first statutory plans.

Iran: Females

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the government of Iran on the status of women in that country.

Bill Rammell: Iranian leaders argue that the situation of women in Iran is better than in other countries in the region and are rightly proud that women make up over half of all university students. However, women remain largely excluded from positions of authority, and gender based inequality is widespread and reinforced by Iranian law. We are particularly concerned by the treatment of Iranian women connected to the Campaign for Equality (which aims to collect 1 million signatures on a petition demanding changes to discriminatory laws and educate women about their rights). Many, throughout the country, have been arrested for peaceful activities in support of the campaign and sentenced to prison terms or flogging sentences on charges such as 'acting against national security' and 'propaganda against the system'. The Campaign's website has been blocked by the Iranian authorities 16 times. With the EU, we continue to make our concerns about this known to the Iranian authorities, and have done so at least four times this year. In a public declaration issued on 6 August the EU condemned the arrest of three women's rights activists arrested in Kurdistan province and called on the Iranian authorities to
	"release these activists unconditionally as soon as possible and to drop all charges against them and other activists of the One Million Signatures campaign who are still under investigation or arrest".
	The EU condemned this persecution and intimidation once again in a human rights démarche delivered on 6 October, and called for the release of 16 detained women's rights activists connected to the campaign.

Iran: Human Rights

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Iran on human rights.

Bill Rammell: We have serious concerns about Iran's poor human rights record. Together with the EU, we remain committed to raising these concerns regularly with the Iranian Government and continue to press them to work towards international human rights standards and fulfilment of their obligations under UN human rights conventions. We have done so more than 30 times this year in bilateral and EU meetings with the Iranian authorities and in public declarations. Senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials raised concerns about the execution of juvenile offenders, during the visit of Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Safari in September. The most recent EU human rights demarche, covering the full range of concerns, was delivered by the EU presidency on 6 October in Paris, as Iran is becoming increasingly reluctant to receive representations about human rights in Tehran. Recent EU statements have focussed on juvenile execution cases, the situation of religious and ethnic minorities, and the proposed draft penal code which, if adopted, would set out a mandatory death sentence for apostasy. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and speak out about human rights violations in Iran.

Iran: Politics and Government

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by his Department to engage with the democratic opposition in Iran.

Bill Rammell: Encouraging respect for fundamental human rights and political freedoms remains a key element of our Iran policy. We do not get involved in Iran's internal political debates, as these are for Iranians themselves to resolve, but together with the EU we continue to promote the internationally recognised principles to which so many Iranians aspire including freedom of speech and transparent, genuinely democratic and accountable government. Our work to assist the development of civil society around the world will continue in support of this goal. We have concerns that Iran's electoral processes do not allow for truly competitive elections or democratic opposition, and have urged the Iranian Government to give their citizens a genuine democratic choice about their country's future, and the opportunity to choose from the full range of candidates.

Israel: Detainees

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Israeli authorities over the detention and subsequent treatment of Mohammed Omer.

Bill Rammell: We understand that the Israeli authorities carried out an investigation and concluded that there was no evidence to support Mr. Omar's accusations, although they did confirm that Mr. Omar was hospitalised after fainting. We have not seen a copy of their report, but our embassy in Tel Aviv has written to the Israeli government to raise our concerns about this case and we await a reply.

Taliban

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government has engaged in talks with the Taliban in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Pakistan.

Bill Rammell: The Government have not engaged in talks with the Taliban in either Afghanistan or Pakistan. However, the UK does support President Karzai and his government in their efforts to reconcile all parties to Afghanistan's democratic constitution and to bring disaffected Afghans into society's mainstream, providing they renounce violence and accept Afghanistan's constitution. In Pakistan, the UK is working to support the Government of Pakistan's 'multi-pronged' strategy to tackle militancy in the tribal belt, including development, governance reform and security measures. As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear during his visit to Pakistan in April this year, we support the Government of Pakistan's plans to reconcile with people who are willing to participate in politics in a non-violent way. Such reconciliation should be designed to marginalise those who are using extremist means for ideological reasons.

Wouter Basson

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he and his predecessors have received of the trial of Wouter Basson in South Africa in 2000.

Bill Rammell: Diplomatic reporting and other correspondence relating to the 1999-2002 trial of Wouter Basson in South Africa was routinely copied to a number of interested Government Departments at the time, including No. 10. As the trial concluded in 2002, my right hon. Friends the current Prime Minister, the current Foreign Secretary, and his predecessor (the Minister for Housing and Planning, Margaret Beckett), have not received reports of the trial.

Yemen: Piracy

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many acts of piracy off the coast of Yemen  (a) were recorded in 2007 and  (b) have been recorded to date in 2008; and what assistance the UK has given to the government of Yemen to tackle such acts.

David Miliband: There were 60 recorded incidents of piracy in this area during 2007, 48 of which were registered as attempts and 12 were actual boardings. Up until the end of September this year, there have been 75 recorded incidents, 36 of which were registered as attempts and 39 were actual boardings. The Government are assisting the Government of Yemen to develop its programmes to counter threats to the maritime border.

Yemen: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed the security situation in Yemen with his American counterpart; and what the outcome of those discussions was.

David Miliband: My right hon. Friend, the then Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Kim Howells, discussed the security situation with the American authorities in May 2008 during his last visit to Yemen.

Yemen: Terrorism

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the Yemeni government's implementation of the requirements in UN Security Council Resolutions 1737 (2001) and 1377 (2001) on the suppression of terrorism; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The Government of Yemen has committed publicly to combating terrorism both inside and outside Yemen. It has conducted several successful operations, including against members of Al-Qaida in Yemen, most recently in August. This operation resulted in the death of a high-profile terrorist suspect, Hamza al-Qaiti.
	We are working with the Government of Yemen to counter the threat of terrorism to the UK from Yemen and to UK interests in Yemen. In the short-term we are focused on protecting British interests in a volatile security environment. In the longer-term we are developing joint work on preventing terrorism by tackling the radicalisation of individuals and reducing the threat to the UK and UK interests through disrupting terrorists and their operations.

Departmental Recruitment

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its Executive agencies spent on (i) recruitment consultants and (ii) external recruitment advertising to recruit staff in each of the last five financial years; which recruitment consultants were employed for those purposes in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of machinery of government changes in June 2007. Information on how much was spent on recruitment consultants and external recruitment advertising to recruit staff prior to this date is not held by the Department.
	In 2007-08, the Department spent 243,548 in total on recruitment consultants and external recruitment advertising to recruit staff. The recruitment consultants employed by the Department for those purposes include KMC international, Kay Management Consultants Ltd. and Capita Resourcing Ltd.
	National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) spent the following over the last five financial years on recruitment consultants and external recruitment advertising.
	
		
			   Advertising ()  Consultants () 
			 2003-04 1,900  
			 2004-05 6,600  
			 2005-06 1,700  
			 2006-07 12,600  
			 2007-08 7,900 3,200 
		
	
	NWML did not use external bodies to undertake its external recruitment advertising. It employed Reed Personnel Services plc. as recruitment consultants in 2007-08 for a one-off exercise.
	The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) spent the following amounts on recruitment consultants and on external recruitment advertising over the last five financial years.
	
		
			   Advertising ()  Consultants () 
			 2003-04 18,065 65,157 
			 2004-05 12,718 7,320 
			 2005-06 16,988 123,340 
			 2006-07 56,502 0 
			 2007-08 15,247 0 
		
	
	The consultants used were Capita Resourcing Ltd. in 2003-04. In the other years, the consultants were Penna. The UKIPO did not use external bodies to undertake its external recruitment advertising.

Education: Prisons

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department spent on the offender learning and skills service in  (a) the most recent year for which figures are available and  (b) in each of the previous five years, broken down by main budget heading.

Si�n Simon: The offender learning and skills service was introduced in August 2005 in three regions, before being rolled-out across England in August 2006. Following machinery of government changes in June 2007, funding for the offender learning and skills service, previously from the Department for Education and Skills vote, was divided between the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The following figures set out spending by the Learning and Skills Council on offender skills and employment in prisons and young offender institutions, and on specific provision for offenders in the community.
	
		
			  Offender learning and skills service spend 
			   
			   Financial year 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Custody 25,393,061 82,962,319 118,035,194 
			 Community 9,381,000 9,381,000 9,381,000 
			 Total (1)34,674,061 (1)92,343,319 (2)127,416,194 
			 (1) Department for Education and Skills.  (2) Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and for Children, Schools and Families.

Science and Innovation Network

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking in conjunction with other Government departments to increase awareness of the Science and Innovation Network among  (a) hon. Members and  (b) others.

David Lammy: The role of tasking and managing the Science and Innovation Network was transferred from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills on 1 July 2008. DIUS and the FCO fund a joint management team located in DIUS. Officials from this joint DIUS/FCO team and from the Science and Innovation Network maintain close links with the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, and with them organise occasional briefings for hon. Members on the work of the Network. The last such presentation was on 7 November 2007. DIUS officials use a number of mechanisms to increase awareness of the Science and Innovation Network with other stakeholders, including publishing an annual report, promoting the work of the Network through such as the Global Science and Innovation Forum, and bilateral meetings with key stakeholders.

Small Businesses: Training

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent steps the Government has taken to assist small businesses with improving the skills of their workforces.

Si�n Simon: holding answer 20 October 2008
	On 21 October John Denham announced that small businesses will be the focus of 350 million of Government funds to help them train their staff. The new package of support that this will deliver will help small businesses get through the tougher economic climate by building the skills and expertise of their workers. The funding will be drawn from the Train to Gain programme, funding for which is planned to rise to 1 billion by 2010-11. In allocating the planned increase in spending on this programme over the next two years, we will give top priority to meeting demand from small businesses in the private sector.
	The key elements of the 350 million package are:
	Relaxing the rules to allow funding for bite-sized chunkssmall units or modules of qualifications in subjects known to be important to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as business improvement, team-working, customer service, and risk management;
	Help for groups of SMEs located together in business parks so that they can increase their purchasing power and share resources to support the training of local SME staff;
	Extending DIUS's successful leadership and management programme so that more SMEs can benefit from it, including in companies with just five to 10 workers;
	Relaxing the rules to allow workers to get training up to level 2 even if they already have a previous qualification at this level; and more funding for level 3 training;
	Brokers to offer tried and tested skills diagnostics and audits so companies can have their training needs more accurately identified; and point SMEs to the right solutions from the most appropriate providers;
	A new communications campaign to begin next month to underline the benefits of upskilling and reskilling and the breadth of the support on offer from Government.

Train to Gain Programme

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much the Train to Gain programme cost in the latest year for which figures are available, broken down by main budget heading.

Si�n Simon: Latest data shows that, since it was launched in April 2006, over 101,000 employers have engaged with Train to Gain, with over 290,000 learners achieving a qualification. Train to Gain expenditure was almost 313 million. A breakdown by budget heading is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Budget heading  2007-08 spend (000) 
			 Delivery 256,034 
			 Brokerage 38,630 
			 Level 3 Pilots 5,574 
			 Higher Skills for Women 2,416 
			 Marketing 9,652 
			 Evaluation 653 
			 Total 312,959 
			  Source:  Learning and Skills Council Accounts 2007-08

Adoption

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  for how many children who were  (a) white,  (b) mixed race,  (c) Asian or Asian British,  (d) black or black British and  (e) of other ethnic groups, it was decided that adoption was in their best interests in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority;
	(2)  how many children who were  (a) white,  (b) mixed race,  (c) Asian or Asian British,  (d) black or black British and  (e) of other ethnic groups, were adopted in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information on the date a decision is made that adoption is in the best interest is currently only collected retrospectively for those Looked after Children who are adopted. We currently do not collect information on when the decision is made for those children that are placed for adoption. However we have made a change to our data collection from 2008-09 which will mean from autumn 2009 we are able to provide this information for children when the decision is made, irrespective of whether the adoption has taken place.
	Information is published on the number of Looked after Children adopted by local authority. However this cannot be broken down by ethnicity due to data disclosure reasons. The number of children adopted in the year ending 31 March 2007 is just over 3,000. Breaking this down by local authority (see table LAE1) and then again by ethnicity would produce very small numbers and would result in most of the figures being suppressed with a hyphen (-). It may be possible to produce figures by local authority and ethnicity by region but we would be able to provide this only at a disproportionate cost.
	The available information by local authority can be found in table LAE1, taken from the Statistical First Release (SFR 27/2007) entitled 'Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2007'. This shows the number of Looked after Children adopted during the years ending 31 March 2003 to 2007.
	The SFR is located at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000741/index.shtml
	and table LAE1 can be found within the second set of Excel tables on the website.
	This table includes information for the last five years. Information for each of the last 10 years can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	Information for the year ending 31 March 2008 will be released in our set of additional tables which we are planning to publish in December.
	The available information at a National level on characteristics of Looked After Children who are adopted can be found in table E1, taken from the Statistical First Release (SFR 23/2008) entitled ;Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2008'. This shows the number of Looked after Children adopted during the years ending 31 March 2004 to 2008 by gender, age at adoption, ethnic origin, category of need, final legal status, duration of final period of care and age on starting final period of care.
	The SFR is located at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000810/index.shtml
	and table E1 can be found within the first set of Excel tables on the website.

Grammar Schools: Admissions

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the likely changes in grammar school admission numbers consequent upon the Building Schools for the Future programme in the Bexley local authority in  (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford and  (b) Old Bexley and Sidcup constituencies in the next three years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the likely changes in grammar school admission numbers consequent upon the Building Schools for the Future programme in the Southend on Sea local authority area in  (a) Rochford and Southend East and  (b) Southend West constituencies in the next three years.

Jim Knight: Each local authority assesses its pupil capacity just before entering the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, and puts forward proposals in its Strategy for Change (SfC) submission. Bexley and Southend-on-Sea are not yet in the BSF programme, so no information about their plans is available.

Primary Education: Pupil Exclusions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many primary school pupils of each age have been given a fixed-period exclusion, broken down by reason for exclusion, in the last 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary schools( 1) : Number of fixed period exclusions by age and reason for exclusion( 2) , England, 2006-07 
			   Pupils 
			   Aged 2 and under  Aged 3  Aged 4  Aged 5  Aged 6  Aged 7  Aged 8  Aged 9  Aged 10  Aged 11 
			 Physical assault against a pupil 10 120 300 580 830 1,180 1,900 2,630 2,270 1,330 
			 Physical assault against an adult (4) 140 420 890 1,070 1,120 1,100 1,020 650 280 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against a pupil 0 10 30 90 140 280 430 690 530 320 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult (4) 30 70 210 340 590 960 1,440 1,200 730 
			 Bullying 0 0 (4) 10 30 40 80 150 180 70 
			 Racist abuse 0 (4) (4) (4) 20 40 70 80 80 50 
			 Sexual misconduct 0 (4) (4) 20 20 20 50 50 70 30 
			 Drug and alcohol related 0 0 0 0 (4) (4) 10 20 20 10 
			 Damage 0 10 10 40 80 100 160 250 190 110 
			 Theft 0 0 (4) (4) 10 40 50 90 100 60 
			 Persistent disruptive behaviour 0 50 260 670 1,160 1,750 2,490 3,390 2,720 1,460 
			 Other (4) 20 50 100 190 350 560 840 690 370 
			 Total 20 380 1,140 2,610 3,890 5,500 7,860 10,640 8,680 4,820 
		
	
	
		
			   Pupils  
			   Aged 12  Aged 13  Aged 14  Aged 15  Aged 16  Aged 17  Aged 18  Aged 19 and over  Total( 3) 
			 Physical assault against a pupil 50 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 11,210 
			 Physical assault against an adult 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6,710 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against a pupil 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,520 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5,590 
			 Bullying 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 560 
			 Racist abuse 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 350 
			 Sexual misconduct (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 260 
			 Drug and alcohol related (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 60 
			 Damage (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 950 
			 Theft (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 340 
			 Persistent disruptive behaviour 70 0 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 14,030 
			 Other 10 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,180 
			 Total 180 (4) (4) 0 0 0 0 0 45,740 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed.  (2) Age as at 31 August 2006.  (3) Includes 10 exclusions for which missing or invalid date of birth was recorded. These have been included in the total only.  (4) Less than 5.   Note:   Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.   Source:  School Census.

Secondary Education: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent discussions his Department has had with  (a) the Chief Executive of the Academies Enterprise Trust,  (b) the headteacher at the Greensward School at Hockley,  (c) the patron of the Academies Enterprise Trust and  (d) the Chairman of Essex County Council on (i) secondary school reorganisation in Colchester and (ii) the establishment of one or more academies in Colchester.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information is as follows:
	 (a and b) Officials met with David Triggs, chief executive of the Academies Enterprise Trust and principal of Greensward School, on 9 October to discuss in principle how the trust and the academies in the area might co-operate more closely with local primary schools for the collective benefit of pupils in the area.
	 (c) The leader of Essex county council is the patron of the Academies Enterprise Trust and discussed possible options on secondary school reorganisation and academies in Colchester when he met the then Parliamentary Undersecretary of State, Lord Adonis, on 12 September. However, this was in his capacity as leader of Essex county council and not as patron of the Academies Enterprise Trust.
	 (d) The leader of Essex county council outlined possible options on secondary school reorganisation and academies in Colchester when he met the then Parliamentary Undersecretary of State, Lord Adonis, on 12 September.

Mircogeneration

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure that community scale renewable electricity technologies such as solar photo voltaics and small wind can contribute fully to help to reach the 2020 renewable energy target.

Mike O'Brien: As part of developing the renewable energy strategy which will be published in spring 2009 we are considering how to encourage onsite technologies including community scale renewable technologies such as solar photovoltaics and small wind. The Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change recently announced the Government's view that a feed-in tariff for small-scale generation can play an important role alongside the renewables obligation for large-scale projects. We plan to bring an amendment to the Energy Bill to make this happen.
	Currently, electricity generated from solar PV is also eligible for support under the renewables obligation (RO), which is the Government's main mechanism for encouraging new renewable electricity generation. Generators currently receive one renewable obligation certificate (ROC) for every 1MWh of renewable electricity. Under reforms to the RO, we are proposing that solar PV receive two ROCs per MWh.
	The low carbon buildings programme (LCBP) is the Government's 86 million demonstration grant programme. Under LCBP Phase 2 with a 50 million budgetwe support community scale projects for the public sector and not for profit organisations.

Nuclear Power

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of the national electricity requirement the Government envisages being met by nuclear generation by 2020.

Mike O'Brien: the Government published its latest energy and emissions projections in May 2007. The document is available at:
	http://berr.gov.uk/files/file39580.pdf.
	These projections assume that the share of nuclear electricity generation in 2020 would be around 6 per cent. based on the continued operation of three existing plants. An updated set of projections is due to be published shortly.

Power Stations: Standards

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the case for applying emission performance standards to the approval of new power plants.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 15 October 2008
	In the context of the Energy Bill, the Department has considered the concept of an emission performance standard for new power stations. We do not support the introduction of such a standard because it would not yield any additional carbon savings, because emissions from the power sector are already capped under the EU emissions trading scheme. Furthermore, it presents a number of risks:
	potentially undermining the EU ETS;
	to the UK's security of energy suppliesin particular it would be likely to lead to increased dependence on gas and therefore in turn, higher electricity prices for consumers; and
	to the deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies, should such a standard rule out new coal-fired power stations. This is because the lower efficiency of existing coal-fired power stations makes retrofitting of carbon capture and storage equipment a less attractive option, because that in itself will reduce the efficiency of a power station.

Radioactive Materials: Waste Disposal

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which Ministers in his Department are responsible for policy on  (a) nuclear safety and  (b) nuclear waste storage and disposal.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 13 October 2008
	I do so.

Community Orders: Hampshire

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many community orders were issued in  (a) Southampton,  (b) Test Valley Borough and  (c) the ceremonial county of Hampshire in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Data on community sentences (including the community order and other community sentences) is available by police force area and the following table shows the number of community sentences issued in the Hampshire police force area 2002-06. Data for 2007 will be available later in the year. Community sentence data is not made available for smaller areas because detailed checks on sentencing data are not carried out at court level.
	
		
			  Number of persons sentenced to community sentences in Hampshire police force area, 2002-06 
			   Number 
			 2002 7,026 
			 2003 7,119 
			 2004 7,980 
			 2005 7,702 
			 2006 6,851 
			  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services 24 October 2008 Ref: PQ(OMSAS)291-08

Coroners

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average duration of an inquest at a Coroner's Court in England is; and in which Coroners' Courts jurisdictions inquests lasted more than a year in the last 10 years.

Bridget Prentice: The latest available statistical information on the timeliness of inquests relates to the calendar year 2007. The estimated average time taken to complete inquests in 2007 by coroners in England was 25 weeks.
	Statistics on inquests lasting more than one year have only been collected since 2004. However, I can confirm that 9 per cent. of inquests concluded by coroners in England in 2007 took over a year. I can also confirm that all coroner jurisdictions except two (the Isles of Scilly and the Queen's Household, which both have only a very small number of inquests in a year) concluded at least one inquest in either 2006 or 2007 where the time taken was more than a year. These figures relate only to those inquests where the death occurred in England and Wales. Timeliness statistics are not collected by the Department for inquests where the death occurred elsewhere.
	There are a number of reasons why individual inquests can take considerably longer man the average time of 25 weeks. These include the need for coroners to await medical reports and the completion of investigations by other agencies such as the police, the Health and Safety Executive, and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

Cost Effectiveness

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what efficiency savings will be required from  (a) Prison Service workforce replanning,  (b) probation productivity via trust programmes,  (c) prisons legal advice and  (d) other identifiable areas or programmes under his Department's Financial Plan for the Comprehensive Spending Review for 2008 to 2011;
	(2)  what efficiency savings are expected to be found by prison productivity, broken down by specified programmes, under his Department's Financial Plan for the Comprehensive Spending Review for 2008 to 2011.

David Hanson: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is on target to achieve cashable savings of 80 million in the current financial year. Budgets for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have not yet been agreed.
	NOMS will achieve 80 million savings in 2008-09 though a range of activities, including the introduction of standardised operating arrangements in closed male, establishments; clustering operations in neighbouring prisons; reducing staffing in area offices and reductions in administration and IT costs. A number of major change programmes are under way to ensure that NOMS can operate within available resources for the rest of the spending period but budgets for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have not yet been agreed and it is not yet possible to quantify the savings that will be generated by specific activities.

Departmental Lost Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what  (a) equipment and  (b) data was lost by his Department in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice has recorded nine significant personal data related incidents for 2007-08, published in its resource accounts and laid before the House on 21 July 2008.
	There were five related equipment losses, comprising of four laptops and one electronic storage device.
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 25 June 2008, providing the final report on measures for data handling procedures in government.

Driving Offences

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were prosecuted for driving cars while  (a) banned from driving and  (b) uninsured in each police authority area in the UK in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: Available information for England and Wales, held by the Ministry of Justice for the offences of 'driving while disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence' and 'using motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks', from 1997 to 2006 (latest available) are provided in the following tables. The data covers all motor vehicles as defined by the Road Traffic Act. Data for 2007 should be available at the end of November 2008.
	Matters arising in Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Office respectively.
	
		
			  Table A: Proceedings at magistrates courts for the offence of driving while disqualified( 1) , by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2006 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,516 1,715 1,955 1,709 1,613 1,858 2,159 1,830 1,380 1,171 
			 Bedfordshire 528 544 548 475 563 635 757 666 605 594 
			 Cambridgeshire 530 518 535 479 454 475 730 625 548 533 
			 Cheshire 736 692 748 661 645 788 907 953 647 597 
			 Cleveland 720 690 689 748 796 848 1,091 1,014 863 631 
			 Cumbria 486 428 430 402 558 528 571 538 384 314 
			 Derbyshire 858 754 829 776 837 968 1,059 945 771 600 
			 Devon and Cornwall 860 896 940 948 954 1,036 1,224 1,033 867 627 
			 Dorset 546 507 478 510 508 488 655 545 412 277 
			 Durham 600 592 784 817 770 821 853 786 729 504 
			 Essex 841 821 944 944 1,082 1,159 1,220 1,139 1,132 973 
			 Gloucestershire 457 429 496 428 425 424 449 443 391 355 
			 Greater Manchester 3,273 3,256 3,391 3,474 3,676 4,000 4,093 3,688 3,155 2,577 
			 Hampshire 1,442 1,488 1,415 1,488 1,452 1,545 1,695 1,509 1,208 912 
			 Hertfordshire 551 501 557 542 580 604 751 783 803 701 
			 Humberside 748 818 895 888 783 888 1,195 1,127 993 771 
			 Kent 785 895 953 1,049 1,157 1,414 1,610 1,611 1,294 1,124 
			 Lancashire 1,552 1,670 1,681 1,553 1,460 1,827 2,222 1,665 1,541 1,285 
			 Leicestershire 1,281 1,305 1,429 1,448 1,536 1,550 1,667 1,596 1,272 738 
			 Lincolnshire 531 549 506 498 541 618 751 675 504 433 
			 London, City of 133 119 86 82 75 141 145 129 125 87 
			 Merseyside 1,636 1,423 1,437 1,409 1,533 1,609 2,129 2,260 1,979 1,396 
			 Metropolitan Police 5,590 5,000 4,567 4,281 4,734 5,440 6,261 6,660 6,357 6,112 
			 Norfolk 431 424 485 508 685 709 746 590 523 421 
			 Northamptonshire 676 802 783 681 431 324 631 741 538 402 
			 Northumbria 1,680 1,701 1,935 1,832 1,844 1,834 1,929 1,749 1,619 1,401 
			 North Yorkshire 554 523 494 506 499 456 574 548 520 374 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,511 1,451 1,572 1,429 1,535 1,533 2,075 1,875 1,457 1,134 
			 South Yorkshire 1,656 1,562 1,688 1,647 1,734 1,841 2,048 1,812 1,412 1,356 
			 Staffordshire(2) 1,054 1,004 1,086 1,030 1,015 1,209 1,331 1,195 1,141 856 
			 Suffolk 365 327 413 422 393 513 623 631 452 427 
			 Surrey 379 350 375 434 523 516 517 460 425 363 
			 Sussex 827 766 927 890 987 922 920 819 725 722 
			 Thames Valley 1,391 1,388 1,381 1,460 1,579 1,774 1,736 1,627 1,358 1,067 
			 Warwickshire 461 418 416 302 391 435 490 549 440 302 
			 West Mercia 816 820 865 882 858 945 978 983 902 739 
			 West Midlands 3,869 3,784 3,524 3,464 3,771 4,130 4,702 4,723 4,022 3,191 
			 West Yorkshire 3,080 2,905 3,126 3,225 3,129 3,241 3,571 3,176 2,551 1,943 
			 Wiltshire 304 424 440 396 488 535 530 456 451 363 
			 Dyfed-Powys 377 366 367 417 481 457 453 409 371 308 
			 Gwent 650 780 849 971 1,064 941 1,210 1,115 1,013 910 
			 North Wales 525 583 614 556 626 659 795 830 666 450 
			 South Wales 2,152 2,259 2,397 2,339 2,613 2,949 3,319 3,004 2,353 1,672 
			 England and Wales 48,958 48,247 50,030 49,000 51,378 55,587 63,372 59,512 50,899 41,713 
			 (1) Offences of aiding, abetting, causing or permitting offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s103(1). (2) It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Proceedings at magistrates courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 1) , by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2006 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003( 2)  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 15,354 16,892 15,098 14,609 13,022 15,124 17,163 17,489 14,625 11,834 
			 Bedfordshire 4,724 4,449 3,479 3,594 4,651 4,731 5,041 4,534 4,776 4,356 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,440 3,425 3,058 2,929 2,508 2,875 3,301 3,120 3,371 4,107 
			 Cheshire 4,838 4,961 5,463 5,729 4,975 5,765 6,385 6,515 4,592 4,463 
			 Cleveland 3,925 4,204 4,331 4,793 4,789 5,994 5,575 6,597 4,611 4,013 
			 Cumbria 4,223 3,787 3,597 3,507 3,595 3,540 3,488 3,446 2,855 2,654 
			 Derbyshire 5,565 5,137 5,120 5,318 5,429 5,614 5,793 6,326 5,869 4,352 
			 Devon and Cornwall 8,422 7,232 7,493 9,234 8,648 9,598 9,676 8,943 7,404 7,500 
			 Dorset 5,271 4,198 4,776 6,035 5,262 6,176 7,034 6,075 5,752 5,177 
			 Durham 3,992 4,261 5,899 5,470 5,394 5,840 5,802 5,300 4,454 3,285 
			 Essex 7,161 7,025 7,336 7,898 7,708 7,811 7,489 7,132 7,035 6,507 
			 Gloucestershire 3,577 4,465 4,443 4,174 4,683 4,417 4,412 3,695 3,500 2,838 
			 Greater Manchester 30,655 30,836 33,228 33,783 37,088 36,337 38,208 34,942 30,280 26,516 
			 Hampshire 11,768 11,557 11,553 10,559 10,349 10,912 10,619 9,750 7,882 6,529 
			 Hertfordshire 4,580 5,799 4,748 5,258 5,816 6,612 7,216 7,463 7,763 7,641 
			 Humberside 4,408 4,279 4,894 5,024 4,730 4,464 5,509 5,170 4,840 5,085 
			 Kent 6,935 6,958 6,151 9,033 9,592 10,059 9,788 10,673 8,535 8,154 
			 Lancashire 20,334 18,794 18,111 18,354 16,280 17,555 21,229 16,065 17,960 15,246 
			 Leicestershire 9,706 9,481 11,054 10,263 10,475 10,699 11,304 10,833 7,306 5,912 
			 Lincolnshire 4,589 5,000 5,345 4,500 4,083 4,242 5,883 6,621 5,644 5,242 
			 London, City of 2,671 3,127 2,521 1,738 1,826 2,353 2,563 2,812 1,499 1,575 
			 Merseyside 10,896 9,747 8,932 10,054 9,467 10,360 12,776 13,023 10,728 7,807 
			 Metropolitan Police 42,283 35,064 31,285 29,649 32,032 36,485 43,100 47,806 47,223 46,132 
			 Norfolk 3,932 3,434 3,468 3,951 4,744 5,563 6,322 5,084 4,442 4,054 
			 Northamptonshire 4,999 4,849 5,571 3,949 2,028 1,211 4,157 5,804 4,441 3,859 
			 Northumbria 12,470 11,837 13,296 13,195 12,504 12,309 12,951 11,685 11,728 10,347 
			 North Yorkshire 3,926 3,744 4,003 3,905 3,545 3,340 3,774 4,065 3,865 3,270 
			 Nottinghamshire 8,078 8,726 7,957 7,748 7,856 7,460 9,224 9,224 7,358 5,994 
			 South Yorkshire 11,228 11,553 11,763 12,690 14,623 13,859 13,745 11,416 11,246 10,307 
			 Staffordshire 8,180 8,210 8,021 8,777 6,027 7,056 7,214 7,439 7,224 6,328 
			 Suffolk 3,258 3,743 4,189 3,923 4,123 4,759 5,808 5,718 4,279 3,799 
			 Surrey 4,942 3,908 4,436 4,941 5,101 5,554 4,657 3,927 4,491 4,173 
			 Sussex 9,333 8,202 7,415 6,796 6,814 6,413 5,808 4,371 4,569 5,074 
			 Thames Valley 11,887 11,948 13,543 12,816 11,728 12,842 14,516 12,920 11,255 10,329 
			 Warwickshire 4,316 3,769 3,523 4,135 4,204 3,711 3,756 4,160 3,469 3,512 
			 West Mercia 7,082 8,207 7,450 7,686 7,787 7,849 7,735 7,249 7,144 7,042 
			 West Midlands 29,878 30,928 27,409 28,148 27,010 32,339 36,409 39,696 34,786 29,998 
			 West Yorkshire 23,980 23,549 25,776 26,529 27,618 24,873 26,966 32,404 26,667 21,641 
			 Wiltshire 3,463 4,820 4,708 4,901 5,292 5,326 4,794 4,641 4,599 4,466 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3,079 2,852 3,017 3,072 2,953 3,316 3,094 2,244 2,639 2,413 
			 Gwent 4,097 4,478 4,451 4,680 4,758 4,508 4,083 3,474 3,241 3,088 
			 North Wales 4,859 4,452 4,102 3,697 3,376 4,048 5,968 6,022 4,211 5,057 
			 South Wales 14,829 16,187 15,406 14,615 13,805 16,499 16,932 15,946 12,605 11,805 
			 England and Wales 397,133 390,074 387,419 391,659 388,298 410,398 447,267 441,819 392,763 353,481 
			 (1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s143(2). (2) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

National Offender Management Service: Per Capita Costs

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the estimated cost of each Director of Offender Management in the National Offender Management Service for 2009-10 is.

Shahid Malik: Following pilots in London and Wales plans are now in place to appoint Directors of Offender Management (DOMs) who will be responsible for the delivery of prison and probation services in all the English regions and in Wales.
	The posts will be at director level (senior civil servant pay band two) and all 10 DOM posts are expected to be filled by April 2009.
	The pay scale for a senior civil servant (pay band 2) director starts at 81,600 up to a ceiling of 160,000 per annum.

Offenders: Greater London

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of persistent offenders there were in  (a) the London borough of Hillingdon and  (b) Uxbridge constituency in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: There are two statistical counts of persistent offenders used in the criminal justice system.
	The first count is of persistent young offenders (PYOs). A PYO is a young person aged 10 to17 who has been sentenced guilty of recordable offences on three or more separate occasions, and within three years of the last of these is arrested by the police for a further recordable offence.
	During the three month period from April to June 2008, there were 7,389 criminal court cases across England and Wales in which PYOs were found guilty and sentenced. In the London metropolitan area there were 804 such cases. Of these, 17 were in the borough of Hillingdon. Counts of cases against offenders are not collected at any level lower than this borough.
	Further information on PYOs can be found on the Ministry of Justice website:
	www.justice.gov.uk/publications/averagetime arresttosentencepyo.htm
	The second is for prolific and other priority offenders (PPOs). The PPO programme tackles a small hard-core of offenders (not confined to any age group) who commit a disproportionate amount of crime, and cause disproportionate damage to their communities. It is a crime reduction programme with a reducing re-offending focus.
	Data from the PPO scheme performance framework indicated that at the end of March 2008 there were a total of 11,296 PPOs being managed in England and Wales. In London, there were 1,172 of these offenders being managed, of whom 23 were in Hillingdon. Counts of offenders being managed are not available at lower level than this borough.
	Additional information on PPOs is available on the Home Office Crime Reduction web-pages:
	www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk

Political Parties: Finance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the impact assessment for the Political Parties and Elections Bill, what the evidential basis was for the calculation that between 2,000 and 3,000 donations each year would be regulated.

Michael Wills: The figures in the impact assessment for the numbers of donations potentially affected by the additional declaration requirements in clause 8 of the Political Parties and Elections Bill are estimates, as there is no publicly available data on the number of donations accepted by political parties of amounts between 200 and the thresholds above which the Political Parties, Elections and referendums Act 2000 requires that donations be reported to the Electoral Commission and publicly disclosed. The estimates were arrived at through extrapolating from the publicly available data on donations of over 5,000 to parties' central offices and 1,000 to local accounting units. These estimates were intended to represent an average yearly figure, taking into account the fact that levels of donations increase considerably towards the end of an electoral cycle.
	The Government accept that a number of political parties have concerns that the impact assessment underestimates the compliance burden that the requirements of clause 8 might impose on political parties. As I indicated at Second Reading of the Political Parties and Elections Bill, representations have been received from a number of parties that the 200 limit is too low, and we have also received wider representations about the impact of clause 8 on those charged with complying with the law. Although I am clear that greater transparency is essential, it should not be achieved at the cost of overburdening political parties and I am ready to consider representations on the detail of our proposals in that area.

Prison Service: Disabled

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of prison staff have disabilities.

Shahid Malik: On 30 September 2008, 1,701 prison staff in the public and private sectors halve declared themselves as having a disability. This represents 3 per cent. of all prison staff.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) prisoner on prisoner,  (b) prisoner on staff and  (c) staff on prisoner (i) rapes and (ii) sexual assaults were reported in (A) male and (B) female prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: The Government are committed to ensuring that violence in prisons is not tolerated in any form. Since 2004, a national strategy has directed every public sector prison to have in place a local violence reduction strategy and from mid 2007 this has been applied to both the public sector and contracted estate. A whole prison approach is encouraged, engaging all staff, all disciplines and prisoners in challenging unacceptable behaviour, problem-solving and personal safety. The Prison Officers Association are partners in its approach.
	 (i) Reports of rape in England and Wales
	Rape is a legal term dependent on conviction and this information is not held centrally by NOMS.
	 (ii) Reports of sexual  assaults in prisons in England and Wales
	The data is contained in the following tables. Due to improved recording over the years, figures from 1998 to 2001 are not directly comparable with those from more recent years. The numbers supplied refer to the number of individual assault incidents. At any one time the system will include some proven and unproven allegations; some of the latter are removed/reclassified at a later date. Assault information is recorded at establishment level in four categories: Prisoner on Prisoner, Prisoner on Officer, Prisoner on Other and Other (which may include non-prisoner perpetrators). The 'Prisoner on Officer' and 'Prisoner on Other' categories mostly refer to assaults on staff however the latter category may include some non staff victims for example visitors. The 'Other' category includes assaults or allegations of assault by non prisoners including any by staff, visitors etc.
	
		
			  Male Prisons 
			  Sexual Assaults Male Prisons  Prisoner on prisoner  Prisoner on officer  Prisoner on other  Other  Total 
			 1998 38 9  2 49 
			 1999 55 5 2  62 
			 2000 64 6 6 6 82 
			 2001 56 6 9 5 76 
			 2002 94 7 4 5 110 
			 2003 74 12 7 3 96 
			 2004 77 16 6 6 105 
			 2005 74 15 6 15 110 
			 2006 77 18 7 18 120 
			 2007 72 13 9 5 99 
			  Note:  From 2007 figures do not include the three prisons (Albany, Camphill and Parkhurst) where the incident recording has transferred to the NOMIS system. 
		
	
	
		
			  Female Prisons 
			  Sexual Assaults Female Prisons  Prisoner on prisoner  Prisoner on officer  Prisoner on other  Other  Total 
			 1998 3   1 4 
			 1999 7 5  1 13 
			 2000 13 2  1 16 
			 2001 2 1  1 4 
			 2002 7 1 2  10 
			 2003 13 2 1 2 18 
			 2004 1818 
			 2005 9   1 10 
			 2006 5 3   8 
			 2007 12 3   15

Prisons: Security

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 885-6W, on departmental security, how many identity cards and security passes were reported lost or stolen at  (a) HMP Pentonville,  (b) HMP Holloway and  (c) Young Offender Institution Holloway in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Loss of passes are extremely rare. When a pass is lost/stolen a report is completed by that member of staff detailing the circumstances, this is reported to the security department; the gatekeeper; NOMS Security Group and is also cascaded to all prisons. Procedures ensure that only those with permission to do enter prisons.
	The table shows the number of reported lost or stolen NOMS identity cards/security passes in each of the last three financial years broken down by  (a) prison and  (b) year at Pentonville and Holloway(1) prisons.
	These figures do not include passes issued to temporary or contracted (permanent and temporary) members of staff. Information on these groups of staff is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost as it would involve analysing all security information reports from these prisons over the last three financial years.
	(1) HMP Holloway and YOI Holloway are recorded as one establishment.
	
		
			  Lost or stolen security passes in each of the last three financial years at Pentonville and Holloway prisons 
			   Establishment name 
			   HMP/YOI Holloway( 1)  HMP Pentonville 
			 2005-06 7 0 
			 2006-07 6 0 
			 2007-08 1 0 
			 (1) HMP Holloway and YOI Holloway are recorded as one establishment.

Sentencing: Young People

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) 16 to 18 year olds and  (b) 18 to 21 year olds are currently serving custodial sentences; and what is the average length of sentence for each group.

David Hanson: At end of the August 2008 there were, 1,618 16 to 17-year-olds; and 7,522 young adults currently serving custodial sentences in prison establishments in England and Wales.
	The average length of sentence for:
	  (a) 16 to 17-year-olds serving a determinate sentence was 19 months;
	  (b) Young adults(1) serving a determinate sentence was 31 months.
	The average lengths given here are longer than those for all sentenced offenders received into prison establishments. This is because the population of offenders in prison at any given time includes a larger proportion of those serving longer sentences.
	The figures do not include juveniles held in secure training centres or secure children's homes
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	(1) Young adults are those aged 18 to 20 and those 21-year-olds who were aged 20 or under at conviction who have not been reclassified as part of the adult population.

Young Offender Institutions: Drugs

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of offenders in young offender institutions are dependent on at least one type of drug.

David Hanson: Data on the number of prisoners in young offender institutions who are drug dependent is not recorded. Instead the National Offender Management Service relies on epidemiological research which has previously shown 76 per cent. of young male offenders aged 18-21 assessed (within a young offender institution) as being dependent on at least one drug.

Young People: Custodial Treatment

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to ensure that expectation 19 of the HM Inspectorate of Prisons criteria for assessing the conditions for and treatment of children and young people in custody, on the arrival of children and young people at an institution no later than 7pm is met in practice; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The National Offender Management Service and the Youth Justice Boards' policy is that young people are escorted from court to their designated prison as soon as possible and before any closure time listed for the prison.

Energy: Coatbridge

Tom Clarke: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many households in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill constituency use a pre-payment meter; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	The lowest geographical level at which the Department holds the requested data for gas is national level, and for electricity separately for North and South Scotland. As of June 2008, there were around 177,000 households using a gas prepayment meter in Scotland, around 10 per cent. of all customer accounts.
	For electricity, as of June 2008, there were around 107,000 households using a prepayment meter in North Scotland, around 17 per cent. of all customer accounts. For South Scotland, the corresponding figure was 328,000, or 18 per cent. of all households.

Post Offices: Closures

Michael Penning: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many post offices and sub-post offices were closed in Hemel Hempstead constituency in the periods between  (a) 1987 and 1996 and  (b) 1997 and 2008.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, managing director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Small Firms Loan Guarantee

Alan Duncan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which business sectors are excluded from the Small Firms Loan Guarantee; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 22 October 2008
	Small Firms Loan Guarantee is available to qualifying businesses in most business sectors. Sectoral restrictions apply principally in the transport, agriculture, coal and steel sectors. Restrictions generally arise from either the Industrial Development Act of 1982, which provides the statutory basis for SFLG, or from European State Aid rules designed to prevent public interventions from distorting the market. In April 2003, sectoral restrictions on retail, catering and other local service businesses were removed.